


Cannonball

by choni_2112



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Hate, Love, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:29:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/choni_2112/pseuds/choni_2112
Summary: The Blossom's and the Topaz's are two families in a small town who hate each other, one family good, the other bad. The hatred slips down the generations, including the youngest one. But it has been said that there is a fine line between love and hate.Toni G!P





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Original story is on fanfiction.net by DE92. I do not own anything.. all rights and credits to the author.
> 
> THIS IS NOT MY STORY, I AM JUST ADAPTING IT.
> 
> ORIGINAL STORY LINK: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9443579/1/Cannonball

Toni's POV 

April 19th 2013.

Friday 10:12pm.

Riverdale.

I sit anxiously in the drivers seat, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as the rain pounds furiously against the windows and the hood of the car, nothing more than a few centimeters can be seen ahead of me in this dark night in Riverdale and I let out a bitter laugh at the irony before raising my hand and slamming it down against the wheel in frustration, trying to fight the sting in my eyes as I think about what I'm about to do.

The door opens and a strong gust of wind overtakes me for a moment before the passenger door is slammed shut again and I turn to the side to see a breathless looking Cheryl staring at me, her eyes red like she's been crying, her hair dripping wet from the rain outside, but her face is anything but weak.

"Who's car is this?" her voice is raspy and puzzled and I can tell already just from the tone of her voice that she had in fact been crying.

"It doesn't matter." I shake my head dismissing the question immediately. A stolen car is the last of our problems right now.

"What's going on Toni?" she asks with a hint of fear in her voice. "Jason, he said...he said that..." she trails off shakily and I know what she was going to say.

"It's not true, Cheryl. I swear." I shake my head furiously, desperately, needing her to believe me. That no matter what I've done in the past, I haven't done this.

She nods her head and places her hands on my face. "I know." she says firmly. "I know you're innocent. I believe you."

"If only your father had the same belief." I grunt sadly. "A warrant has been sent out for my arrest, Cheryl, I'm a wanted woman."

"No." she gasps, shaking her head. "No, this isn't right, you've been set up! You're innocent!"

"No one will believe me, Cher. My finger prints were on the damn gun!"

"That doesn't mean that you shot someone with it!" Her eyes start to water. "God!" she raises her voice in frustration and turns away, her eyes filling up with angry tears. "What are we going to do, Toni?"

"WE are not going to do anything, Cheryl." I tell her sternly. "This is my mess, not yours."

"Now isn't the time for your stubborn strong willed annoying tendencies to come out to play." she glares at me. "So I'm going to ask you again, what are we going to do?"

I sigh and look down guiltily, this isn't fair, Cheryl doesn't deserve to be involved in something like this, she deserves so much better. "Chery-"

"Don't." she cuts me off with a warning tone to her voice. "We don't have time to argue. If my Dad is going to arrest you, he'll be no doubt looking for you right now as we speak and I'm sure it won't take him long to figure out that you could be here with me."

"Which is why you need to get out of this car and go home, Cheryl! I'm not getting you involved in this!"

"Too late for that!" she argues back, not backing down. "You're an idiot if you think I'm just going to walk away from this, walk away from you." she shuffles back around in her seat and places her hands back on my cheeks. "I love you, Toni." Her eyes water again and I can feel mine doing the same. "I love you so much, and I'm not going to lose you, ok?"

"I don't think you have a choice." I tell her quietly, a lump in my throat. "You're Dad is powerful with the law in this town, Cheryl, do you really think that he's going to allow you to visit me? To see me? To even speak to me?" she stays silent for a moment, her hands still on either side of my face, her dark brown eyes looking deep in thought.

"Then we run." she whispers.

"Cheryl no-" I shake my head furiously but she cuts me off.

"Don't fight me on this! We don't have time, Toni! We need to run! We need to leave!"

"You don't need to ruin your life for me!" I snap at her in frustration. "If you come with me, Cheryl, that's it, your life is over"

"No it won't be. It'll just be starting because I'd be with you!" she tells me almost desperately.

"And what about your family? Your friends?"

"My family are the last people I want to be around right now." She mutters bitterly. "And besides, it won't be forever. The truth will come out eventually, Toni, it always does, you of all people should know that. You have people here who are on your side who are going to clear your name, ok? Sweet Pea, Fangs, your Uncle Zach, even your Dad! They will fight for you. Until then, we need to go because there is no way in hell that I am letting you rot in a jail cell alone. This isn't up for argument, we need to leave this town, this state tonight!"

I stay silent as I think about her words, because she's right, my family may be dysfunctional but we are loyal to each other, through thick and thin, besides, I know that Sweets won't give up on my either.

"Ok." I agree after anxiously thinking it through, still not sure if this is the right way to go but it's not like I have a lot of time to decide. My heart skips a beat as I watch her eyes light up and a smile cross her lips, despite the situation. "But we need to move fast." I place my own hands on her face and gently stroke her soft skin. "Go back home and pack a bag, make sure you pack light. Take as much money as you can get, but no cards." She listens to my instructions and nods her head firmly. "And leave your phone." I tell her seriously as an afterthought.

"Ok." she leans forward and kisses me softly on the lips, her forehead leaning against mine.

"Meet me at Sweets' house in 30 minutes exactly, try not to be even five minutes late baby." I state clearly. "Don't stop to talk to anyone and don't let anyone know that you're leaving, ok? Not even Betty and Veronica."

"Ok." she repeats before kissing me again and moving out of my grasp to open the door.

"Cher." I call out, stopping her just as she was about to shut the door. "I love you. Be safe." she smiles and shuts the door and I wait for a few moments, watching through the side mirror as she runs down the street before I quickly look around and pull away, making my way over to Sweets' house, my hands involuntarily shaking as I pray that this nightmare will end soon.

* * *

  
Cheryl's POV 

I run all the way back to my house from where Toni was parked a couple of blocks away, doing exactly what he said about not stopping to talk to anyone as the rain soaks through me.

I make it to my house luckily without any problems and I let out a sigh of relief to see that both my parents cars aren't there, meaning that they aren't home, I just hope that Jason isn't around either.

I decide against calling out for him when I step inside, not wanting to draw attention to myself if he is home, instead quietly creeping up the stairs towards my bedroom, stopping briefly by my brother's bedroom door to listen in for any kind of movement or sounds.

Nothing.

But that could just mean he has his headphones in, so I still need to be cautious. I quickly walk into my bedroom before going into the bathroom and locking the door on his side, quickly grabbing a handful of essential toiletries before dumping them on my bed. I rummage around hurriedly for my gym bag before dumping them inside and then moving to open my wardrobe and pulling out clothes, hurriedly placing them inside, making sure I only bring stuff I need.

####  Travel light, Toni said. 

I lean down under my bed and pull out my old wooden box that I keep private stuff inside, I unlock it with the key that I keep hidden and open it up and rummage inside, stopping when I see a picture of me and Toni. It was taken just after the New Year, and it was a self photo taken on my phone that I got printed out, one of Toni's arms is stretched out holding the phone to take the photo, while the other is wrapped around me tightly, pulling me as close to her as possible as she holds a big grin on her face. I sit beside her, my lips pressed against her cheek, one of my hands cupping the side of her jaw. I smile and tuck the photo into my purse, not willing to leave it behind.

I quickly pull out the envelope that I was originally looking for and look inside to see the money that I had been saving from my allowance ever since I was a little girl. My Dad always taught me to never spend all of my pocket money at once, to put a little away each time because maybe one day I might need it.

That one day is today.

I lock the box back up and slip it back under the bed, putting the key inside the envelope with the money and placing everything inside my bag. I zip up my bag and look around my room, hoping that this won't be the last time that I will be here, that Lauren will be cleared sooner rather than later and the only trouble that I will be in will be from my parents for running away and not from the law for harboring a fugitive.

I glance at the time as I swing my bag over my shoulder to see that I have just 15 minutes left to make it to Sweets' house, which without my car, is only just enough time but I know that if I walk fast, or even run, that I will make it on time.

I quietly close my bedroom door behind me, just in case Jason is actually home, before I creep back down the stairs. I'm about to leave but I freeze before I touch the handle of the front door of my childhood home, the home that I have lived in all my life.

A sudden wave of panic and fear overtakes me as I realize what I'm about to do, what I'm about to give up.

My family, my friends, my education.

My future.

The second I walk out of that door my life will never be the same again and there is a pit of fear and anxiousness resting in my stomach that is screaming at me to ask if this is all worth it?

* * *

Toni's POV

"I've only got a few hundred dollars in cash." Sweet Pea walks out into his hallway with a wad of notes in his hands. "If you want we could make a quick trip to the ATM? Or you could wait here and I'll quickly go now?"

"No, no." I shake my head as I take the money from him, extremely grateful for what he is doing for me already. "I don't have time for that, but thank you, this is more than I could have asked for." I shove the money into my bag, briefly looking out of the window to check that there is nobody suspicious hanging around and no sign of the police.

There's no sign of Cheryl either.

"Fangs will pay you back for me, just give him this." I hand him a folded up piece of paper that I used to write my little brother a brief letter, basically saying goodbye as well as instructing him who to speak too and who to avoid if he wants to help me clear my name.

"Don't worry about paying me back mate." Sweets shakes his head at me and I watch as he turns his head to glance at the time on the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't Cheryl be here by now?"

I gulp slightly and nod my head, hoping that she hasn't ran into her father or anyone else that could stop her or delay her.

Or that she hasn't changed her mind.

#### ''She'll be here." Sweets tells me firmly, almost like he can read my mind. "But in the mean time, here." he pulls out his car keys and holds them out in front of me and I look at him confused. "Take it." 

"What? No. Sweeta, I can't take your car." I look at him like he's crazy.

"Yes you can and you will. That car you have out there has probably already been reported stolen, therefore you're more at risk driving that around than even your own. So take the damn keys, drive it out of state and if you want you can sell it for scrap metal or something if you need the cash, or keep it, whatever you wanna do, but take it, Toni."

"Sweet Pea you've done enough." I shake my head in protest.

"Stop being an idiot and take the damn thing!"

I laugh despite myself and take the keys from him. "Thank you." I tell him sincerely.

"You'd do the same for me, I'd hope." he smirks and I laugh and slap him on the shoulder.

"You know I would." I smile but it falls when I notice the clock on the wall.

Cheryl should be here by now.

"Toni," Sweet Pea looks at me sadly. "You need to go."

"Just five more minutes." I protest weakly.

"Toni, you should have left ages ago, she's already twenty minutes late. You can't stay here any longer, the cops are looking for you and they've been here once already looking for you, who's to say they won't come back? Detective Blossom is gunning for you, he'll search this town high and low a dozen times alone if he has too! You're a sitting duck right now!"

I run my hand shakily through my messy hair, trying not to think of the possibility of Cheryl not coming.

But then again, that's more likely to happen than her actually running away with me isn't it? I was shocked when she suggested we leave town, but I knew how much she loved me so I believed it, I believed she could do it. I should have took into consideration how much she loves her family too.

Of course she's not going to want to leave them and her friends behind for a messed up waste of space like me.

To ruin her life for me.

She deserves so much better. So much more.

"Ok." I take a deep breath, willing myself to stay strong.

I can do this alone.

I can do it.

Sweets nods his head and I turn around and open the door, looking around to make sure that no one is around before I quickly dart towards Sweet Pea's Black Range Rover that is parked on his driveway. I open the back seat and throw my duffel bag inside before turning to face my best friend who has had my back through everything.

Good and bad.

"I'll call you from a payphone in a couple of weeks, once I'm long gone from Riverdale." I tell him with a small smile.

"You sure you want to waste your dimes on lil old me?" he smirks at me and I roll my eyes before wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

A manly hug, of course.

"Be careful." Sweets pulls away, a serious look on his face.

I nod my head and open the drivers door but stop before I get inside, turning back to face Sweet Pea. "Look after Cheryl for me please." I ask him sincerely. "Don't let her get anymore involved in this than she already is, keep her safe, Sweets, I love her more than anything else in this world, please keep her safe for me."

"I'll protect her." he tells me firmly, his voice full of honesty and I instantly believe him.

"And Fangs too." I add as an afterthought. "Baby bro can barely tie his own shoe laces." I smirk teasingly and Sweet Pea laughs and nods his head and I sigh before climbing inside and shutting the door behind me, quickly sticking the key into the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

I reverse out of the driveway, my eyes looking into my mirror behind me but just as I'm about to speed away, I look up back at Sweet Pea to see him waving at my frantically to stop and I can barely hear my name being shouted from his lips. I frown confused and brake, rolling down the window anxiously.

"Sweets? What?" I ask with a hint of panic. "What's wrong?"

However he just smiles and points to my right and I turn my head and my heart stops.

It's Cheryl.

Before I even know it I'm out of the car and she's in my arms, clinging to me tightly, her head buried into the crook of my neck. Her duffel bag discarded on the floor behind her.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" she gasps breathlessly. "I'm so sorry, but I'm here, I'm here now. I love you, I'm here!" she pulls away and kisses me hard on the mouth and I immediately return it, our kisses hot and sensual and for a moment I forget about where we are, what we are about to do.

"Toni!" Sweet Pea brings us back to reality with a thud and I immediately pull away from Cheryl and turn to face him and my heart drops to my stomach when I see that he no longer has a smile on is face, instead there's a look of panic and fear.

And that's when I hear the sirens.


	2. Chapter 2

Cheryl's POV

September 3rd 2012.

Monday 8:20am.

Riverdale.

"Morning sweetheart." My Dad leans down and kisses me on the cheek as I bounce into the kitchen Monday morning, my cheer leading uniform on show as I push some of my long red hair from my face.

"Good morning Daddy." I smile back happily as I move past him towards the jug of freshly made orange juice that was left on the side counter.

"Someone is in a good mood today." My Dad eyes me with a smile as he picks up a newspaper and slides it under his arm, the other holding out a mug of what I know will be steaming hot coffee. "I thought you teenagers were supposed to hate the first day back at school."

"Well not me Daddy, I couldn't be more excited to see all my friends again and swap summer stories." I grin, looking forward to starting my junior year because it just means I am one step closer to being a senior.

"Well I wish your brother would be a little bit more enthusiastic, it took your mother almost an hour to get him out of bed this morning."

"Where are they anyway?" I ask curiously, knowing that our family kitchen is usually in a small state of chaos at this time of a morning, especially during term time.

"Mom took Jason in early for morning detention." Dad rolls his eyes slightly and I scrunch my eyebrows together confused.

"Morning detention? How? School hasn't even started yet!"

"You remember the glued chairs prank in the faculty office on the last day of school last May surely?" my Dad smiles a little and realization crosses over me. "Well, the principle called us yesterday to remind us that Jason would not be going unpunished just because there was vacation right after." He sighs. "That boy, I hope he has learned her lesson and stays on the right path this year."

"I doubt it." I murmur quietly, knowing how much my brother likes to break the rules lately, much to my parent's dismay.

"Well he's not a freshman anymore, Cheryl, so he has to start taking his classes more seriously. High School is important, it leads to college, it's not a place to mess around for four years with your friends."

"You don't need to tell me that, Daddy."

"I know sweetheart." He smiles. "Sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you, it just frustrates me sometimes because he is such a smart kid with so much potential and he just throws it all away."

"He's still young, and he's a teenage boy." I remind him. "He'll grow out of it soon enough." And she believes it, her brother is a lot of things, and smart is one of them, he's not going to waste away in life and throw away his future because he's just not that kind of boy, she just wishes that her parents would remember that sometimes.

"I hope so." He shakes his head slightly before letting out a loud sigh. "You need a ride to school?"

"Nah I'm good, Archie is going to pick me up." I watch amused as my Dad cringes slightly.

"Archie? That still happening?"

I roll my eyes. "You know it is Daddy." I tell him pointedly and I watch as he shrugs slightly.

"I just don't think he's good enough for you."

"You think that about all the boys." I chuckle and watch as he lets out a small smile.

"Maybe, but only because it's true. Although, young Nick St. CLair has always been sweet on you, Cheryl, he's a handsome young man, comes from a good family."

I do my best to hide my annoyance, because I know that my parents disapprove of Archie's family history, his alcoholic mother and his town junkie of a sister, but Archie's different, and they should know that by now. "Dad."

"Sorry..." he holds his spare hand up with a smile. "No more boy talk."

"Thank you."

"I have to go, got a big case that I'm working on." He walks over and kisses me on the cheek. "Have a good day at school."

"Thanks." I watch him leave and wait until I hear the front door slam shut before letting out a sigh that I didn't even realize that I was holding.

* * *

Toni's POV 

"Well well, what do we have here?" I smirk in amusement as I wander into the detention hall to see little Jason Blossom already sat down in the second row. "Detention on the first day of school? Ouch, I'm sure Daddy will not be pleased about that."

I watch as Jason watches me with a fierce glare on his face. "Go away Toni."

"Aw, that's a bit rude, Jason." I pull out the chair next to him desk and sit down, folding my arms out. "So, what you in for? Forget your homework? Lost a library book? Said a naughty word? Come on, spill." I wait patiently as he stays silent, his eyes fixated on the blackboard at the front of the class, trying his best to ignore me. "What's wrong? Lost your ability to speak?" I chuckle and watch as his jaw clenches. "You know, that's funny because I'm pretty sure when you're around your loser friends you always have something to say."

"Maybe I don't want to waste my breath talking to scum like you."

I'm about to reply with a snarky comment of my own but the sound of a hand slamming down on the front desk stops me and I look up to the front of the class to see that Mr Connor has made his entrance.

"I don't want to hear the sound of either of your voices, got it?" he says with a warning tone and I scoff, wondering who pissed in his cornflakes this morning. "Toni, move seats now."

"I'm quite comfortable where I am." I lean back in my chair and fold my arms behind my head.

"Do not make me tell you twice." He says firmly and I roll my eyes before standing up and moving to the back of the class knowing that Mr Connor is one of the very few, if not the only teacher in this God damn place that is worth listening too sometimes.

After about five minutes of silence, the sound of the door creaking open interrupts us and I look up just in time to see my best friend Sweet Pea stroll inside like he owns the place, that chesire grin on his lips and I roll my eyes with a smirk as he takes a seat beside me.

"Nice of you to join us, Jordan." Mr Connor sighs but doesn't look too bothered by his late entrance, I guess he doesn't want to be here just as much as we don't.

"I was wondering when you would show up." I smirk as Sweets rubs his eyes tiredly. "Thought you were going to make me suffer here alone." I speak quietly so to not piss off Mr Connor even more but he looks too preoccupied with his phone anyway.

"Why are we here again?" he asks confused.

"We spray painted the principle's car on the last day of school." I look at him in amused disbelief and watch as he rubs his eyes again and that's when I realize that he is stoned. "Oh man, you're high aren't you?"

Sweets shrugs and lays back into his seat and stifling a yawn. "Chill man, I'm good."

I chuckle and shake my head, wondering why we even bothered to turn up here this morning anyway, it's not like we are known to actually attend the detentions that we've been set.

#### Oh well, it's the first day back, may as well make it a good start before it all goes to hell again, because I know that is what will happen. I can't take school seriously, even if it is my senior year, and neither can Sweets, who only cares about getting high all the time. 

"Woah...is that Jason Blossom?" Sweet Pea finally notices the other student in the room and I laugh and watch as Mr Connor looks up with a warning glance before turning back to his phone.

"Got a problem, Pea?" Jason hisses as he turns around in his chair to face us.

"Nah mate." Sweets smirks, his thick accent on show. "Just surprised to see you here, wonder what Daddy would think."

Detective Clifford Blossom is the bane of my families life and the head detective and senior officer in Riverdale, basically on par with the Sheriff. Ever since I could remember, I've always known that my family dislike the Blossom's, the St. Clair's and the McCoy's, but mostly, they hate Clifford Blossom, partly because he is always trying to find a way to put us inside and lock away the key.

My Dad, Thomas Topaz isn't a criminal mastermind, nor is he in any kind of mob or gang, but he does partake in illegal activities every now and then, whether it be tax evasion, embezzlement, and all sorts of different kinds of fraud, but no matter how hard he tries, Clifford Blossom can not build a case against my father, something which has frustrated him to no end, I am sure.

I have a strange relationship with my father, mainly for the fact that I spent half of my life without him. He and my mother had me by accident, it's not a secret, and Thomas was a married man, separated, but none the less, married. While my mother was still pregnant, they decided to call it quits and to remain civil, Thomas eventually going back to his wife and giving it another go, and a couple of months after I was born, his wife then became pregnant herself.

Nine months later, enter my half brother Fangs.

My Mom always told me that when I was a baby, Thomas tried his best to balance his relationship with both me and Fangs, but with the pressure from his wife and other commitments, by the time I was a toddler, our relationship fizzled out.

I didn't hate him for it, I never hated him for that. It was just the way it was and I never really suffered for it, he still paid for my expenses, helped my Mom out financially, I just never really saw him or spoke to him and that was fine because I was just a kid, I didn't know any better.

When I was ten years old however, things changed.

My Mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

She died just a year later.

My life changed. Since my Mom didn't have a family of her own, I was taken in by Thomas and his wife, Marie, to live with them and their son, my half brother, Fangs.

At first I hated it, I was angry and hurting and missed my Mom like crazy. I ignored Thomas and made Marie's and Fangs's life a living hell.

This lasted for about a year.

Then I grew the hell up.

Fangs and I bonded, and we became like real brothers, despite only sharing the same Dad. Thomas and I formed some kind of stable relationship, we weren't close like my Mom and I were, nor like Thomas and Fangs are, but we have a fairly healthy relationship, despite his not so perfect personality.

Marie Topaz, however, is a different story. She hates me. Always has done, probably always will, and I know that every time she looks at me all she sees is that bastard son that her husband had with a fling, that one mistake. We argued constantly, both of us determined to hate the other more, and eventually it got to the point where we just couldn't live together anymore.

#### 

Thomas bought me my own apartment this past summer, I was almost 18 anyway and I was more than capable to live on my own. I wasn't kicked out of the Topaz Boarding house, no matter what the town says, I left on my own accord, to make life easier for me, to make it easier for Fangs who was often caught in the middle between me and his Mom.

I still spend a lot of time at the boarding house, my Dad insists that we have a family dinner once a week, and I spend a lot of time there too with Fangs anyway.

And my Uncle Zach.

Uncle Zach, where to start with my Uncle Zach.

My Dad's much younger brother, in fact, he is only eight years older than me. Unlike Thomas, who's crimes are more to do with making more money and fooling the system, Zach is more into the street crimes, you know, the drug dealing, the drug trafficking, handling stolen goods, robbery, petty theft, that sorta stuff.

If you think that the law of Riverdale hate my father, you should see how they feel about my Uncle Zach.

He spent some time in prison a few months ago. Clifford Blosom and Miles McCoy, with the help of Mayor St. Clair, finally built a strong enough case to send him down for drug trafficking, but evidence somehow disappeared, so the case was dropped and Zach was sent home a free man, much to their dismay.

The Topaz's are definitely the black sheep of this small ridiculous town, but since we are still part of the founding families, and therefore the town council, our place is constantly cemented here, no matter how much other families want us out of Riverdale.

"Hey." Sweets interrupts me from my thoughts. "You good?"

"Yeah man." I nod my head and watch the clock, surprised to see that morning detention is almost over and grin just as Mr Connor checks his watch and stands up and leaves without so much as a word, a sign that this hell is over with. "See you in English." I jump to my feet and walk out of the classroom to see the hallways starting to fill up in preparation for the first class of the day.

Fresh faces and lost looking freshman crowding up the hallways and I roll my eyes and push past them outside, heading over towards the stoner pit, pulling my hood over my head.

"Toni!" Alessia Andrews spots me and quickly jumps to her feet and practically runs my way. "What you got for me?" she asks eagerly, her eyes darting around fast and anxious and I can see already that she is on something, and is definitely on a come down from the way her hands are shaking right now.

"Nothing unless you have the cash to pay for it."

Oh yeah, did I mention that I worked for my Uncle Zach sometimes?

"I don't have it right now but I can get it to you-" before she even finishes I turn around and start walking away.

"No, Toni! Please!" she runs after me and tugs on my arm. "Please Toni, I need it."

"No money, no drugs." I say simply. "You know the rules and you still owe me from the last time."

"Well..." she looks around for a moment before placing her hand on my chest. "How about I pay you back another way? We've done it before." her finger slowly runs down my abs and I sigh and take a hold of her hand.

"That was before you turned into the town junkie." I spit out nastily and watch as her face falls. "You know the rules, Alessia." I repeat. "I'll hold onto this for a little while, but if you don't pay up by the end of the week I'll double it." I smirk and watch as her eyes widen in panic.

"Why would you do that to me?"

I shrug. "Boredom mostly, but also because I don't really like you." I grin and drop her hand before walking away again, only getting as far as the parking lot before another body is stood in front of me.

#### "What the hell were you doing with my sister?" a ginger guy that I find awfully familiar hisses at me furiously, his own brown eyes on fire with rage. 

"Sorry, who?" I ask in annoyance.

"Alessia!" he snaps angrily.

I laugh amused. "Alessia is your sister? Oh man, that is unlucky." I go to push past him but he side steps back in front of me and I frown.

Big mistake.

"Is it you that keeps dealing her drugs? If it is, you need to stop! She has a problem! She doesn't need assholes like you around her!"

"You want to remember who you are talking too." I step closer to him menacingly and quietly take pride on the way he gulps slightly. "I don't take too kindly to small town morons trying to pretend that they know what they are talking about and getting in my business."

"I'm not asking for trouble-"

"You asked for trouble the second you started speaking too me." I grab him by his collar and swing him around before slamming him against the brick wall of the school. "Don't you even approach me again, got it?" I grip him tighter for good measure when he doesn't answer immediately.

"Ok, ok!" he struggles to try and escape my grasp and I laugh before letting him go, however I don't even make it two steps before he opens that stupid mouth again.

"Just stay away from her!"

I turn back on my heel and sock him in the jaw before he even knows it, watching amused as he crumbles straight to the floor. "That was your first and last warning!" I hiss at him while rolling my eyes and walking away.

Idiot.

* * *

Cheryl's POV  +

"Archie! There you are, what the hell happened?" The second we got out of the car, Archie seemed distracted and before I even knew what was happening, he was running though the small crowds of students away from me. I followed the best I could, but I lost him in the masses so I made my way to my locker, wondering what the hell just happened.

So when I turned around to see my boyfriend walk towards me in the hallway, a bruise on his jaw, I'm confused to say the least.

"Alessia happened." he sighs sadly, running a hand over his styled ginger hair.

"Alessia did this to you?" I ask shocked, moving my hand up to graze his jaw with my fingers but pulling away the second he gasps at the contact.

"No." he scowls. "Toni did."

"Toni?" I ask confused but it doesn't take me long to know who he is talking about. "Toni Topaz? Why would she hit you?"

"Because she's been selling Alessia drugs." he scoffs angrily. "I should have known it was her."

"That family is toxic." I agree, hating every single Topaz in this town. They think they own the place, they think that because they like to do things and get their own way by threatening people and hurting people that they can do whatever the hell they want.

But not for long.

I know that my Dad and Sheriff McCoy are working with Mayor St. Clair to bring them down. It's only a matter of time.

"She's going to regret messing with my sister." Archie snaps angrily.

"Archie." I place my hand on his shoulder. "Don't, you don't want to get involved with those guys."

"I'm already involved, Cheryl! She's turned my sister into a different person, into a shell of her old self and she needs to pay for it."

"But she's dangerous, Arch, and God knows what she is capable of, you've read the papers, you've seen some of the things that her family have done in the past."

"I don't care."

"Stay away from her, Arch, please." I plead with him almost desperately. "Alessia doesn't need you to be hurt and that's what will happen if you try to get back at her, Alessia needs you to be there for her, not to go after Toni."

"You should listen to your girlfriend mate."

We both snap our heads to the side to see Sweet Pea looking at us with a grin on his face and I gulp slightly.

"Sorry," his grin widens. "Couldn't help but overhear. Please, don't stop on my account."

"Are you involved too?" Archie turns to face him, stepping in front of me to stand in front of Sweet Pea and I wonder what the hell has gotten into him.

Archie is always so calm and non-threatening.

But then again, when it comes to his family it doesn't take much to agitate him.

"Involved in what?" Sweet Pea smirks.

"You know what!"

Sweet Pea laughs and taps his chin for a moment before stepping closer to Archie and I gulp slightly as they stand toe to toe. "I think it would be best for everyone involved right now if you walk away and I forget this conversation ever happened. Don't bother going after Toni because you will lose, hell, you don't even stand a fighting chance. You're a nobody, Andrews, always have been, always will be, just like your tramp of a sister. So why don't you do everyone, especially yourself, a favor and don't try and get involved in things that don't involve you."

"I'm her brother!"

"And if Toni finds out your making threats against her, you may not be a brother to anyone." his entire demur changes and my eyes widen and my heart pounds hard against my chest at the insinuation. "Walk away."

He taps Archie on the face with his hand, hitting the bruise on his jaw before laughing and walking away.

"Arch." I walk around in front of him to face him. "Please."

"Ok." Archie sighs and holds out his hand. "I'm not going to do anything stupid, I'll find another way to help Alessia." I'm relieved by his words because I can see the genuine fear in his eyes at Sweet Pea's threat. "I have to go, coach wants to hold a meeting."

"Ok." I smile. "We still up for tonight?"

"Tonight?" Archie asks confused and my heart stops. "What's happening tonight?"

"Nothing I..." I trail with a shaky voice. "Never mind." I smile.

"Cheryl?"

"I just wanted to hang out." I shrug, trying to act like nothing is wrong.

"Sure, we can hang out." he smiles before leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. "I'll see you later!" he jogs off and I watch him go disappointed before turning to face my locker.

"Happy anniversary." I mutter coldly to myself, slamming my locker shut with a loud thud.

* * *

Toni's POV

"Took your time didn't you." Zach glares at me as I open the door to his car and slide inside the passenger seat.

"You text me like five minutes ago and I was in class." I huff in annoyance. "I had to convince my teacher to let me out."

"Don't know why you're bothering to stick in school anyway, it's not like you're going to need it to join the family business and you'd be much better use to me if you were available at all hours of the day."

"You know that part of the agreement of my Dad paying for the rent of my apartment was to finish school." I roll my eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Oh please, with the money that you're making already is more than enough to pay for that crappy little apartment yourself."

"Whatever, you didn't come here to lecture me." I huff and watch as Zach reaches out into the back seat and picking up something wrapped in a blanket.

"I need you to drop off a package for me at Rogan's Bar in Greendale tonight." he says with an edge to his voice that makes me a little wary for a moment.

"Sure." I shrug casually, it's not a big deal, I push drugs for my Uncle Zach all the time.

"You need to make sure you go alone, don't take Sweet Pea or any of those clowns you hang about with. Got it?"

"Why do I need to be alone?"

"No questions, Toni." he snaps at me impatiently. "Got it? Yes or No."

"Yes." I mutter coldly.

"Good. Now go, I don't need anybody seeing me here and asking questions."

I nod my head and place the box that is wrapped up in a blanket into my backpack and jump out of the car and head back towards the main building.

I hide by the side and watch as my uncle drives away before unzipping my bag and picking up the package inside, wondering what makes this one a little different.

I frown confused as I unwrap the blanket and to reveal a wooden box, I look around before slowly opening the box and my eyes widen to see two handguns placed inside.

"Fuck." I curse under my breath before quickly shutting the box, the last thing I expected was to be delivering guns! It's not like I haven't been around them before, because I have, but this is the first time that my Uncle Zach has given me a job alone that involves them.

Why the hell would he give me them now though when he knows fine well I have almost a full day of school ahead of me!

"What you got there?" I jump and swing around to see Veronica Lodge walking towards me with a smirk on her lips, her hips swaying from side to side. "Someone's jumpy."

"Go away, Veronica." I snap at her coldly, not in the mood to deal with my ex-girlfriend right now.

"That's not what you were saying last night." she runs her hand down my chest.

"I was bored and you're easy." I smirk at her. "Besides, I hear you have a boyfriend now. A St. Clair huh? Didn't think you had it in you to be classy."

Veronica scoffs. "Nick is not my boyfriend, we just had a summer fling."

"Does he know that I've been fucking you behind his back?" I smirk and watch as her scowl deepens. "Well?"

"You know fine well he doesn't."

"Hmm." I click my tongue in my mouth. "I might have to change that."

"Don't."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll never speak to you again."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well who else would you call for a hookup when you're feeling all lonely in that stuffy little apartment of yours? Face it, Toni, you have no one. You need me."

I chuckle and shake my head. "Oh Veronica, you're feelings of self-importance amuses me. Don't ever change." I watch as she continues to scowl at me and I push past her. "I'll probably see you later, you know, when I'm bored and lonely in that stuffy apartment of mine that you seem to love so much. Tell Nick I said hi."

I don't get much further before I run into Fangs. "What did she want?" he motions to Veronica who is walking away in the other direction.

Good.

"Oh you know Veronica, always enjoys attempting to push my buttons." I smirk. "Why aren't you in class, baby bro?"

"Why aren't you?" he throws back immediately.

"Touche." I grin.

"I saw you with Uncle Zach." he tells me seriously and I freeze. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone else was around but it's risky him coming here."

"It's not like it was my idea." I defend myself immediately.

"I know that, but you know how reckless he can be, I just don't want that recklessness to pass onto you."

"It won't."

"Good, because you heard what Dad said last night about Sheriff McCoy and Detective Blossom-"

"Yada yada yada." I cut him off in a bored tone. "When is Detective Blossom not trying to send our family down? The guy needs a hobby or something."

"This is serious Toni, you need to lie low."

"I don't need to do anything." I argue quietly just in case anyone is around. "Cifford Blossom doesn't scare me, he never has and he never will."

"Just be careful, that's all I'm saying." Fangs places his hand on my shoulder for a moment. "He has Mayor St. Clair on his side now ever since he found out about Dad sabotaging his campaign last year, that's all three sides of the law against us."

"Against Thomas, not us." I argue.

"Oh please, you don't think they want to pull Uncle Zach down too? And you? And me? They aren't stupid, Toni, they know that we're involved."

I shrug, clutching onto my backpack a little tighter. "They don't scare me. Now excuse me, I have to get back to class."

I walk away without letting my brother get another word in because I don't even want to think about what could happen next with our family.

* * *

Cheryl's POV  +

I watch annoyed as Archie high fives Chuck before leaning down to take another shot on the pool table, half of the football team crowded around.

"Hey, you ok?" my best friend Betty comes up beside me and I sigh before nodding my head.

"I'm fine."

"Isn't it your first anniversary today?" she asks confused. "I thought you were doing something special."

"So did I." I muse sadly. "But it seems my boyfriend has forgotten all about it and is more interested in playing pool with his friends than having dinner with his girlfriend."

"He's probably just forgot, you know what boys are like." she smiles reassuringly. "Do you want me to mention it to him? Discreetly, of course."

"No! No." I shake my head immediately. "Don't. I'm not in the mood now anyway, in fact, I'm feeling pretty tired, I might just head home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I smile reassuringly at her. "I have homework I need to do anyway, and my Mom wants to talk to me about the Miss Riverdale pageant, she wants to make sure I have a good speech prepared."

I quickly go make my way over to Archie and feign a headache, he believes me immediately and offers to drive me home but I decline and decide to walk.

#### I don't even make it half way home before my phone starts to ring. 

"Cheryl, where are you, I went to The Grill to pick you up and Betty said you'd already left." the voice of my worried mother blares through my speaker and I roll my eyes at her paranoia.

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Where are you?"

"I'm heading over to Josie's." I lie, not ready to go home and face her just yet because I know what will be waiting for me. Numerous of different pamphlets of volunteer work that I need to take part in this semester, as well as her eagerness to prepare me for the Miss Riverdale pageant which is not even for another couple of months yet!

Plus, I know that Josie is out with her father who is in town this week, so she won't be around at The Grill for my Mom to see.

"When will you be home?"

"I don't know, Mom." I sigh tiredly. "I'll text you."

"You know I prefer it when you call me, Cheryl."

"Fine. I'll call you."

"Don't be late sweetie, I love you, bye." she hangs up and I roll my eyes in annoyance before dialing in a number and glancing at the number of the house that I stopped outside of before calling a cab.

* * *

Toni's POV

I walk into the corner of Rogan's bar and sigh when I see Steve Briggs sat down in the dark corner booth with a small group of guys around him.

Of course that's who my Uncle Zach wanted me to deal with.

The guy is the biggest pain in my ass, he's just a couple of years older than me but think's he's a God damn Don or something.

He's an idiot.

"Topaz." Steve smirks at me as I approach him. "Zach never told me it would be your pretty face I would be dealing with this glorious evening." the guys around him snigger and I roll my eyes before pulling out the package from my bag and dropping it onto the table, not even bothering to be discreet because no one in this place gives a damn as long as you leave them be. "Always the chatter box." he smirks at me and I ignore him and patiently wait for him to bring out his own package and hand that back over to me.

I look inside the envelope and give it a quick count to make sure that it's the right amount that Zach told me. "Don't worry man, it's all there." Steve scowls at me defensively.

I ignore him and finish counting, glad that it is all there because I am not in the mood to deal with any drama tonight.

I turn around and walk away without even another word, because I would rather not waste another breath on idiots like him.

I go to walk towards the exit but freeze when I see a familiar silhouette sat at the other side of the bar, a drink in her hand and a solemn look on her face and a smirk immediately crosses my own.

I sneak up behind her before placing my hands on her hips as she sits down on a bar stool and I feel her tense under my grip. "Fancy seeing you here." I whisper into her ear, smiling when she shudders.

"Go away, Toni." she snaps coldly and I chuckle and walk around to her side so I can see her face.

"Cheryl," I hold my hand against my chest. "I'm hurt."

"I'm not in the mood tonight." she takes a swig of the drink in her hand without glancing my way and I watch amused as she grimaces slightly.

"Then why are you here?" I challenge her immediately. "And don't say it's a coincidence."

#### "I needed to be alone, to go somewhere where I knew no one would bother me." she finally looks up at me, a glare on her face. "And right now you're bothering me." 

I laugh a little and shake my head before turning around and ordering two beers, knowing that they never check ID's in this place. I give one to Cheryl and she takes it without showing a hint of gratitude and I roll my eyes before taking a swig.

"You want to know what I think?" I lean against the bar.

"No."

I smirk. "I think that you came here tonight because you knew there was a chance you would see me."

"Why? Because you're a sad raging alcoholic who spends all of her time in a run down bar alone?"

"Ouch. You are on fire tonight." I grin before taking a step closer to her and running a hand down her thigh slowly, watching as her breath hitches and she guzzles down more of her drink. "You came to see me."

"No, I didn't." I notice that her tone is a lot less firm than before.

"Yes you did." I reply simply, placing my beer on the bar before using my other hand to play with her hair. "Stop lying to yourself, Chryl." I move my hand to her cheek but she grabs my wrist tightly and pushes it away, her leg moving so my hand falls from her thigh.

"Don't touch me, Toni." her voice is no longer shaky and I smirk at the fierceness in her tone.

"Why?" I ask smirking. "Why can't I touch you?"

"Because you're an ass, because I hate you and because I have a boyfriend." she lists off her reasons like they actually matter, like they actually mean something to her.

"Oh please, that's never stopped you before." I smirk devilishly.

I watch as her face pales slightly. "That was a mistake."

"What? All...wow, eighteen times?" I eye her amused.

"You counted?!" she asks disgusted and I shrug and wiggle my eyebrows at her. "You're a pig!"

"You weren't saying that the last time we met up."

"And like I said, that was a mistake. It should never have happened."

"Right, because you're sweet innocent little Cheryl Blossom, the town detective's daughter, and I'm Toni Topaz, the towns badass."

"You think you're a badass." she rolls her eyes at me. "And I never said I was innocent."

"And yet that's the act you play and who you portray yourself to be." I tell her brutally. "Daddy's little princess with the perfect grades, the perfect friends, the perfect boyfriend. I wonder what everyone would think of you if they knew the real Cheryl Blossom."

"Now you're threatening me?" she asks in disbelief. "Because I won't sleep with you?"

"You've already slept with me." I smirk. "But no, of course I'm not threatening you, why are you always so defensive, Blossom?" I chuckle and take a swig of my drink before putting it back down. "Dance with me?" I hold out my hand.

She looks at me like I've just grown another head. "What?"

"Dance with me."

"No."

"Cheryl."

"No."

"Cheryl."

"Toni."

"What are you so afraid of?" I challenge her before literally pulling her off her stool, watching amused as her body crashes against mine by the impact. "Huh?"

"I'm not afraid." she tries to pull away but I hold her tighter

"Could have fooled me." I loosen my grip for a second to trail my hand down her back before slipping under her shirt, her hot skin immediately against my fingers and I smirk when she gasps and shivers as I trace my hand around her waist underneath her top. "Either dance with me, or come home with me, your choice." I whisper into her ear, smiling as one of her hands grips my t-shirt tightly.

"Fine." she huffs before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the empty dark dance floor. She wraps her arms around my neck and my hands immediately fall to her hips as we start to dance to the unrecognizable music.

I close my eyes as she turns around and grinds against me, her ass pressed against my throbbing member and I open my eyes just in time to see her arms raise in the air as she sways to the music, getting lost in the song and I smile because this is the Cheryl that I know.

Free, alive, not a care in the world Cheryl Blossom.

Not the conservative, goody two shoes cheerleader who is the towns detectives daughter that everyone else sees.

I run my hands up and down her sides slowly before wrapping them around her waist tightly and pulling her even closer against me, my head dipping down to rest in the crook of her neck and I pull back some of her soft red hair before placing a slow sensual kiss to her neck, my tongue darting out slowly to lick her skin before I suck gently on the same spot, nibbling and kissing my way along her soft smooth skin.

I smirk when I hear a soft moan escape her lips over the music and I press another kiss, and another, and another.

Her arms wrap around my neck from behind tightly as she grinds her body against my own and I swear that I feel like I'm about to explode.

My body is on fire.

"Toni." she gasps before turning around, her dark pools the darkest I've ever seen them and I gulp at the look in her eyes.

She is truly breathtaking.

"Take me back to yours. Please." she practically pleads with me and I nod my head in relief before grabbing a hold of her hand and pulling her outside into the night air and into my blue camaro.

Anxious and eager to make our number up to nineteen.


	3. Chapter 3

Cheryl's POV 

September 4th 2012.

Tuesday 8:55am.

Riverdale.

Toni was right.

I was at that bar last night in the hope of seeing her there. Of course I was. She knows it, and I know it, but that doesn't mean that I was ready to admit that to her, she's arrogant enough as it is, she doesn't need to be proven right as well.

Her head is big enough.

I'm so angry at myself for going back there again. For going back to her. I promised myself that when I told her three weeks ago that we could no longer see each other, I meant it.

I meant it when I said that my family came first, I meant it when I said that I couldn't do this anymore to Archie, and I meant it when I said that I couldn't risk my future, my reputation, people's respect, for a string of flings with the town's bad girl who my own family completely despise.

No matter how alive she makes me feel.

I remember the first night it happened like it was yesterday. I was in the middle of a fight with Archie, and we hadn't spoken for a few days, and my Mom was pressuring me to help organize a founders party with her, something which I really didn't want to do.

But I went, and I made sure that she knew I wasn't happy about it. Unfortunately for me, my moodiness spread onto other people too and I ended up in an argument with one of my best friends Josie.

I bailed on the party and got in the car and drove, no destination in mind but knowing that I wanted to get as far away from Josie and my Mom and even Archie, as possible.

Away from Riverdale.

I ended up at a bar in the next town over, which is unusual for me because normally I would never have the courage to go to somewhere like that, especially alone, but I did and I guess I was too angry to properly think about it.

I ordered a drink and sat alone running through the past couple of days in my head, wondering why everything seemed to be going wrong lately, when I felt a presence sit beside me, and to my dismay, to see it was Toni Topaz.

I think the whole of Riverdale is aware of the hatred that is shared between the Blossom's and the Topaz's. It's not a secret, it's just the way it is.

My Dad hates Thomas and Zach Topaz, and as they got older, and therefore meaner, that hatred spread down to their offspring's Toni and Fangs.

Especially Toni.

Of course, his hatred of the family was passed down to me and my sister too, and it was just the normal thing to do, to hate the Topaz's.

So when Toni sat next to me that humid June Friday night, I wasn't best pleased.

"Well well, are my eyes deceiving me or is Cheryl Blossom really associating herself in an establishment like this? Alone no less." I could hear the smirk in her voice before I could see it.

"Go away."

"I see your father's manners have been passed down to the next generation." she laughs and I scowl, being reminded yet again about how much trouble the Topaz's are and how they have been arrested on a few occasions by my Dad.

So I sit and ignore her, as Toni chats away to me like I'm even interested in what she has to say. I tune her out, and didn't pay attention to a single word. Instead, I patiently finished my drink, stood up and walked away, hoping that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

I barely made it to my car before I felt someone roughly grab my arm and I turned around to see a middle aged man leering at me, asking me what a pretty girl like me was doing here all alone.

I tried to get away, I did, I even tried to use some of the self defense moves that my Dad taught me once, but it was no use, the guy was twice my size and would not let me go.

I was in a major panic, because no one else was around and the sound of the music coming from the bar could be heard from where we were, meaning that even if I tried to scream, no one inside would hear me anyway.

I thought I was goner, but then I was ripped away from the mans grip and before I could even blink I saw a familiar brown haired frame pounding into the guy in front of me, her fist plummeting into his face.

I watch horrified as the older man lay in a crumbled mess on the floor, and I could barely register the threat that was made to him about never ever going near me, or coming back to this bar again.

Toni turned to face me, her eyes a little wide as she took in my shaky terrified frame, and before I knew it, I was back in the bar with a glass of whiskey in my hands, sipping on it slowly as I thought back to what could have just happened hadn't Toni shown up and saved me.

"It'll help with the shock, make you feel better, I promise."

"Thank you." I tell her sincerely and watch as she sends me a small genuine smile, not her usual cocky smirk or smug grin.

"You're welcome." she replied simply.

We stayed like that for a few more hours, drinking and talking and I was surprised to learn that Toni is actually a funny girl, and smart, hell, she's too smart for her own good.

The drinks kept on flowing, and I was shocked when the barman called last orders and I looked down at my watch to see that it was 2am.

My parents were going to kill me, but somehow, it didn't worry me, not like it normally would have whenever I was a late for curfew.

Toni walked me outside and called me a cab, but before I got inside, she kissed me on the cheek. I gasped at the sensation that it gave me, the way that my body lit up as her hands briefly landed on my hips as she leaned down to press her lips gently against my skin. She pulled away slowly, and before I knew it we were kissing and not on the cheek, and then we were both inside of the taxi that was originally meant for just me.

Next thing I know we are in her apartment, and then we were in her bedroom, and then in her bed.

It makes me feel like crap to say it, but that was the first night that I'd ever felt so exhilarated, so free, so alive.

Sex with Archie was standard. It was sex.

Sex with Toni was...

There are no words to justify it, no word would ever be enough to explain the magnitude of sex with Toni Topaz.

The next morning was awful though, I woke up with a pounding headache and the memory of what I had done the night before as I lay naked in Toni's bed while she slept soundly beside me.

I quickly got dressed and left without even giving her a second glance, the shame and the guilt eating me up.

Not only had I betrayed Archie, but I had betrayed my family too and that tore me up.

I avoided Toni for weeks afterwards, pleased that when we did run into each other, not even a second glance was made and I realize that I was just another cheap one night stand to her.

I felt disgusted.

However, on another warm humid early-July night, I was walking home alone from The Grill and a car pulled up slowly beside me.

It was Toni.

She offered me a ride home, and my legs were hurting because of summer cheer practice earlier that day, which was the only reason why I agreed.

#### Honest. 

We talked a little, and she agreed to drop me off around the corner so no one would see. But before I got out of the car, Toni grabbed my arm and pulled me against her and before I knew it we were kissing and then naked again in the backseat of her car.

It would happen a every so often from then, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not, but each time I felt alive, I felt free and each time left me wanting more.

Until 6 weeks later when my Dad's case against Zach Topaz was sabotaged and therefore dropped, meaning that he was released without charges.

That spurred on my Dad's hatred of that family even more, and his determination to bring them down was stronger than ever and that made me feel awful for what I was doing with behind his back.

How could I betray my own father like this?

So I ended things with Toni, for good, not that we were ever really together anyway, I mean, I was under no illusion that it was anything else other than good sex.

Really really good mind-blowing sex.

Toni wasn't too pleased, but what could she do about it? We weren't having an affair, we weren't in a relationship, we just hooked up every now and then, she knew that.

Which was why last night was a mistake.

I stand by my locker and watch as she stands further down the hallway laughing about something with Sweet Pea and Jughead Jones, not even a glance in my direction, not that I expect her to look over anyway, we never ever acknowledge each other in public, we don't even look at each other.

Sometimes I forget that she had almost as much to risk in what we were doing as I did.

Her family hate mine just as much as mine hate hers.

I sigh and close my locker just as the bell rings and make my way to my first class of the day, hoping that I can avoid Archie for as long as possible to delay the guilt that I know will start to eat me up inside the second I see him smile at me.

* * *

Toni's POv

I sit in the cafeteria not even bothering to hide the scowl on my face as I watch Cheryl kiss her boyfriend sweetly, a smile on both of their faces and I wonder what would happen to those smiles if I told that idiot jock what I was doing to his precious innocent girlfriend last night.

Or what she was doing to me.

I scoff and shake my head, looking away and trying to force my mind away from Cheryl Blossom.

She's a Blossom, she's not worth my time, no matter how great the sex is.

How sensational...how she makes me feel like my entire body is on fire.

How-No.

"You going to Nick St. Clair's back to school party on Friday night?" Sweet Pea thankfully brings me out of my drifting annoying thoughts and I snap back to reality just in time to see him reach over and steal a handful of fries from my plate.

"Hey!" I slap his hand away but it's too late and I watch disgusted as he shoves them all in his mouth like a pig. "You're disgusting."

He just rolls his eyes and ignores me. "Friday? Coming? As much as I hate the St. Clair's I'm not going to say no to free booze and drunken girls with low inhibitions. Plus, I could do with the money." he wiggles his brows at me.

"You want to deal in a St. Clair house at a high school party?" I ask amused. "Risky, Sweets."

"But fun." he smirks. "And it'll piss Nick off."

#### I move my eyes around the busy cafeteria and let them fall to a table across the hall, landing on Nick himself, and of course, Veronica Lodge. 

"Then sure," I agree with a smirk. "Let's make an appearance. I want to show Nick something anyway."

"What are you up to?" Sweets asks with glistening eyes and my grin widens.

"You'll find out on Friday." I look back over at Nick and Veronica, watching as she runs a hand down his chest and Niall is enjoying every single moment of attention that she is giving him.

Oh I can't wait.

I watch as Cheryl gets up from her table that she is sharing with Archie and her popular gang of friends and walks away alone and I don't waste a moment before standing up myself, pushing my tray of food across the table as I do so.

"Here." I move the tray in front of Sweet Pea. "Don't say I never give you anything." I turn on my heel and quickly walk away in the direction Cheryl just walked off too.

I make sure I keep my distance as I follow her through the hallway, not many students are about since it's lunch time but there are still people with eyes stopping me from approaching her straight away. She turns a corner and I watch as she heads towards the school library.

Perfect.

I follow her inside the connecting building, still making sure to keep plenty of distance as I discreetly follow her around the aisles.

However, as I turn a corner I stop confused to see that she is nowhere in sight.

Great! I've lost her, how the hell did that happen? I was right behind her!

"Following me?" I jump slightly and swing around to see Cheryl stood behind me with her arms folded across her chest and her eyebrow raised.

"Please." I scoff in disbelief. "Don't flatter yourself princess."

"Right." she smirks slightly at me before turning around and walking away again but before I can even stop myself I reach my arm out and grab her own. "What are you doing?" she looks at me annoyed, her eyes briefly scaling the area but thankfully there is no one else around.

"Well now that we've ran into each other..."

"Accidentally, of course." she mocks me but I just ignore her.

"Of course." I roll my eyes slightly before gripping both of her arms and pinning her against the tall bookshelves behind her.

"Toni." she hisses at me, trying to pull away from my grasp but she forgets that I'm stronger than her. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What?" I ask her innocently, an evil smirk on my lips as I press my body against hers, our chests flushed together. "I'm not doing anything."

"Are you crazy? Someone could come around here any minute." however I notice that as my body is flushed against hers, her efforts in getting away from me is decreasing incessantly.

"That's the thrill of it." I dip my head down and whisper into her ear. "Round two?"

"No." her voice tries to sound firm but I don't miss the way her shoulders slacken.

"Why not?"I murmur into her ear quietly, my breath tickling her skin.

"Last night was a mistake. It should never have happened."

"But it did happen, Cheryl." I nibble on her lobe and smirk as I feel her shiver against me, her hand slowly coming to rest on my side, gripping my hip as her breasts press against my firm chest. "It did, and I have no doubt that it will happen again." I press a hot opened mouth kiss to her neck, sucking on her skin before kissing it again softly before peppering slow kisses up her neck and then to her cheek before pressing a slow sensual kiss to the side of her mouth, I look into her dark pools for a moment before pressing my mouth against hers. Cheryl moans into my mouth as I slide my tongue inside against hers, deepening the kiss as I push myself up against her. Cheryl's hand grips my side tightly, her other one sliding up my chest and landing in my hair, clutching the back of my head as her fingers grip onto my thick short hair. I slip one of my hands between her legs to stroke the inside of her thigh, her body shuddering against my own as she gasps at the sensation.

I pull away just an inch breathlessly, my lips lingering by hers and I go to kiss her again but not before I speak.

"Let's face it, you can't resist me."

That did it.

She shoves me back with all the force she could get and unfortunately it works this time because I stumble back, almost tripping over my own feet.

"Stay away from me!" she scowls at me before storming away and I let out a laugh and shake my head.

Doesn't she know that it's inevitable?

* * *

Cheryl's POV 

Stupid arrogant asshole!

Careless annoying snarky smug dick.

How could she be so stupid to do something like that in a public place?! In school no less!

God, I hate her!

Who the hell does she think she is?

I run a shaky hand through my hair as I stare at myself in the mirror in the girls bathroom, barely even recognizing the girl looking back at me. The girl who cheats on her boyfriend, the girl who betrays her family by hooking up with someone they hate.

Where did my self respect go?

Where did my morals go?

My self control?

Toni Topaz.

That's where they went. She stole them and I let her, I let her like the stupid naive careless girl that I am.

God I hate her!

I run the tap and splash some water against my face, needing to cool down, trying to ignore the twinge below and think about anything else other than her stupid annoying piercing green eyes.

"Forget her." I mumble to myself sternly. "She's not worth all this."

"Cher! There you are!" Josie swings open the bathroom door and I jump slightly with fright and turn around to see her strolling in, Betty trailing behind her.

"We've been looking for you." Betty looks at me a little concerned. "We thought you were going to the library but we couldn't find you anywhere?"

God, they went to the library to look for me? They could have easily walked in on Toni and I.

I need to make sure something like that never happens again.

"Yeah sorry, I forgot I had to pick something up from my locker and then I needed the bathroom." I lie, just like I've been lying to everyone lately.

"Are you ok?" Betty frowns with worry. "You look a little...flushed."

"I'm fine." I quickly reply. "Just a little stressed with school starting again."

"Which is why tonight calls for a girls night!" Josie interrupts and I try to hide my unwillingness because a girls night is the last thing I want to do tonight.

I just want to hide in my bedroom and ignore the world.

However, the old Cheryl Blossom would be up for this idea, in fact, she probably would have been the one to suggest it.

"Girls night?" I plaster on a fake smile. "Sounds great, Jo."

"Perfect! My Mom is doing the night-shift so we'll have the place to ourselves! Ben and Jerry are prepping in the freezer and you know how awesome my DVD collection is." she grins. "My girls and boy talk, that's all I need.

Boy talk.

Great.

"I gotta go, got a meeting with the coach and regional's, see you in Geography!" Josie leaves like the whirlwind that she is and I watch as Betty hesitates before following her.

"Are you sure you're ok? You've been acting weird all day."

Damn it. I need to do better to hide my shame and guilt.

"I'm fine Betty, really." I give her the biggest fake smile that I can muster up, praying that it's genuine. "Like I said, it's just back to school blues."

Betty smiles and lets out a breath. "Oh I know that feeling!"

She believes me thank God.

"Ok, well I gotta go too, I said I would help Christine Young with her Math homework. I'll see you later?"

"You sure will." I smile and watch her leave before letting out a sigh of relief and turning back to the mirror to face my reflection.

Yup.

Unrecognizable.

* * *

Toni's POV

"You're late." Thomas scolds me the second I walk into the dining room in the Topaz Boarding House.

"I know, I'm sorry." I take off my leather jacket and find my regular seat at the large dining table.

"You only have to be here one day a week, Toni, that's all I ask."

"I know and-"

"Leave her alone brother." Zach interrupts us with a calming tone to his voice. "It's my fault she was late."

I gulp slightly as I watch as my Dad tenses. "Explain." he orders firmly.

"I don't think it takes much explaining, honey." Marie cuts in with a coldness to her tone that is always there whenever I'm the topic of discussion. "It's obvious that she's been working for Zach again."

I watch as Fangs shuffles uncomfortably across the table from me and I sigh and look back at my Dad who does not look happy.

"I thought we agreed that now that school was starting again that would stop." I don't quite know who that question is directed too, me or Zach, because Thomas's eyes are glued to the short tumbler of whiskey that he is swishing about in front of him.

"It's no big deal." Zach breezily replies much to my relief. "Just a little bit here and there, don't worry brother, it's nothing that will come between her and her precious school work, because we all know how important that is." he says with sarcasm.

"Education is important." Thomas replies a little too calmly for my liking. "Not that you would know."

Zach chuckles and I feel like it's time to jump in. "Look Dad it's fine, I'm not doing anything that will distract me from my school work. We made a deal that I would stay in school if you let me live on my own, and I fully intend to stick by that agreement."

I hear Marie scoff from across the table but I ignore her.

"And what about my other one?" My Dad draws his attention to my little brother who immediately stops eating and places his fork down. "Fangs? Are you also doing a little bit here and there during school time?"

"No sir, I know the rules." The lie rolls off Fangs's tongue like a pro and I try to hide my smirk.

Fangs is the best liar that I know. \+ 

"You shouldn't even have to ask that, Thomas." Marie scolds her husband.

"It was just a question." Thomas sighs, probably already fed up with the conversation.

"It sounded more like an accusation to me."

"Mom." Fangs cuts in diplomatically, a soothing tone to his voice. "It's fine, really. I get why he asked." he turns his attention back to our father. "Don't worry Dad, Uncle Zach isn't leading me astray and-"

"I'm sitting right here!" Zach interrupts in annoyance but he's ignored.

"And don't worry about Toni," Fangs continues. "She knows what she's doing."

"I do." I agree.

"So now that this is all cleared up...did you watch the game last night?" Fangs steers the conversation away to talk about football, a conversation that he knows will distract our father from anymore questions.

I glance over at my Uncle Zach who sends me a look that I know means he wants to talk to me.

Dinner flies by without anymore problems and my Dad excuses himself to his office, Marie disappearing into the kitchen and I glance at Zach who is checking his phone.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Not here." he replies without even looking at me. "Let's go for a drive." he walks outside and I sigh before following him, sending a questioning glance at Fangs who just shrugs as if to say he doesn't know what's going on.

I get in his car and we drive around for a little while in silence, the only sound in the car coming from the quiet noise of the radio, a random pop song playing on low.

"What's this about Zach?" I sigh, getting impatient, watching as he tenses slightly before pulling too a stop on the side of a road. Luckily there is no houses or any kind of civilization on this road, just lots of woodland and trees. "Well?"

"I'm in a little bit of trouble." he finally speaks up, his eyes glued ahead of him.

I frown confused. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Clifford Blossom has some dirt on me." Zach mutters coldly and I let out a small laugh and watch as he turns to face me in annoyance. "What fucking part of this is funny?!"

"Oh come on, it's Clifford Blossom, he's never been able to take you down before. I can't believe you're even thinking about this!"

"God, sometimes I forget you're just a naive kid." he grumbles and I glare at him pissed off.

"Oh, so now I'm a kid? I'm not a kid when I'm dealing your drugs, selling your guns, doing jobs for you that no other kid would be able to do!"

"Just shut up!" Zach slams his fist against the steering wheel, the frustration rolling off him in waves and I freeze, knowing better than to argue with him when he's in this kind of mood.

I've had a black eye in the past for not backing down in an argument with good old Uncle Zach.

I hold my hands up in the air as a mean to show that I'm listening and watch as he lets out a shaky breath.

"I've been tipped off to know that Blossom has some evidence on me to send me down for drug trafficking, concrete evidence, and when I say send me down I don't just mean for a year or two, this is long term."

"Ok." I frown. "But you can get out of it right? I mean, my Dad knows people on the inside...he can make this disappear, can't he? He's done it before."

Zach shakes his head. "He's already tried, but Clifford is on the ball this time, he's making the investigation private which means that no one else can have access to this case, to my files. He's working with Sheriff McCoy and Mayor St. Clair and they've somehow found a way, a legal loophole somehow, to make it so nobody else can touch it but the three of them until it goes to court."

"Shit." I look out the window and run my hand through my hair. "So what the hell are you going to do?"

"No Toni." he shakes his head and I turn back to face him to find that he is already looking at me with a serious look on his face. "I'm not going to do anything. You are."

"What?" I look at him bewildered.

"They aren't keeping their files in the office, if it were that simple I'd have them destroyed by now through my contacts on the inside. They are keeping them in their own homes." he finishes. "I don't know whose, it could be one of the three, but I need you to find out, and I need you to get it for me."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? Break in? Can't you just do that yourself?" I ask confused and also a little annoyed that he wants me to do his dirty work for him.

"That's too risky. You need to go from the inside."

"The inside...?"

"Think about it, you go to school with their kids." he tells me pointedly and I let out a dry laugh.

Bingo.

"You want me to get this evidence through their kids? You're forgetting one thing here, they all hate me!"

"Then make them unhate you." he rolls his eyes at me. "You're charming, I'm sure you could work your way into Josephine McCoy pants, or that Blossom girl, what's her name-"

"Cheryl." I tense.

"Cheryl, that's it." he continues. "Use your charm, you're a good looking woman."

I clench my jaw and bite my tongue, because there is no way in hell he can find out about Cheryl and I already hooking up.

Numerous of times.

"What about if it's with a St. Clair?" I throw in, already full of doubt with this idea. "I can't exactly just flirt my way into their house with Thomas can I." I scoff.

"Look, the most likely person it's with will be Clifford." Zach tells me and I sigh.

Of course.

"He's paranoid, he's overprotective, so I doubt he'd trust anyone else with it." Zach tells me. "So find a way in and get it for me."

"And what if I can't?"

"That's not an option, Toni." Zach tells me firmly. "I won't spend half my life in prison! You're doing this, end of conversation. We're family, we have each others back and this is you having mine."

Zach drives me back to the boarding house so I can pick up my own car before I drive back to my empty apartment and lie in bed in the darkness, wondering how the hell I'm supposed to this.

Yes, Cheryl and I hook up sometimes, but she hates me and as far as she's concerned, I hate her too.

So how the hell am I supposed to get her to trust me enough to let me into her home?

This is going to be one hell of a challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

Cheryl's POV 

September 7th 2012.

Friday 9:05am.

Riverdale.

"Baby, baby, baby oh!" Josie sings along to some stupid Justin Bieber beside me as we wait for our History class to start.

I try to block her out as much as I can, my head is pounding and the last thing I need is my superhyper best friend singing out of tune right beside me.

I am so glad that it is Friday.

Normally, I don't particular hate school, in fact, I used to kind of love it. But lately it's been nothing but a bore and this first week back has been absolute hell.

And it's all Toni's fault.

I started the school year with the absolute most sincere intentions to forget about our many flings over the summer, to pretend that it didn't happen and concentrate on my relationship with Archie. I needed to be the best girlfriend that I could be to him, because he deserves so much better than me, so I needed to make sure that from now on I would be 100 percent faithful and loyal to him.

That didn't even last 24 hours.

I'm so angry with myself for sleeping with Toni again. I swore it was just a summer fling, that when I ended it that hot humid day in mid-August that I ended it for good.

But now she won't leave me alone.

No, seriously, she keeps appearing in places that I'm already at and I swear it's not just a coincidence. I don't know what kind of game she is playing, but she really needs to stop! What happened in the library the other day was risky enough, but last night she had to nerve to talk to me in The Grill!

The Grill where all my friends hang out, where my boyfriend works, where my parents sometimes go for dinner!

Is she out of her arrogant pig-headed mind?!

God she is so infuriating!

"Morning class." I'm interupted from my anti-Toni thoughts by Mr Connor strolling into the classroom already over five minutes late but he doesn't seem to care. "Look, it's Friday, the last day of the first week back and I'm sure you are all just as fed up and bored as I am."

Some of the class snigger and laugh at his attitude while others who haven't been taught by him before look genuinely surprised by it. I however had the pleasure of being taught by him since my freshman year, so I am used to his laidback and straight talking attitude.

"You all know the drill, you have a semester one project to work on and then to present at the end of the year. This year you'll be working in groups of three, these groups will be picked at random from a hat and then they will be non-neagotable, got it?" he says firmly and we all nod our heads in agreement.

I wait with open ears as Mr Connor starts to walk down the class and stop at the student who is sat in the front row on the far lefthand side. He picks out two folded up pieces of paper and reads out their names, showing who will be in his group.

It continues and Josie groans beside me as some guy from the basketball team reads out her name as well as some stoner kid who barely even shows up to class.

"Great, that's a big fat F for me!" she scowls and I try to hide my smile at the unluckiness of it all.

However, my own luck wasn't any better.

In fact, it was worse.

"Felix Matherson and Cheryl-great...Cheryl Blossom." I frown at the unfamiliar voice but then freeze when I turn to see who Mr Connor is stood next too.

Fangs Topaz.

"What?" I gasp, horrified that this is happening. "No...I...I can't!"

"I don't exactly want to work with you either!" Fangs glares at me from across the room and we both look up at our History teacher pleadingly.

"Non-negotiable." Mr Connor cuts in before either of us can say anything and I huff in annoyance and lean back into my chair.

The rest of the hour drags like hell and I wait for the impatiently for the bell to ring to signal the end of class.

Eventually it goes off and I wait slowly behind for everyone to leave before stopping by Mr Connor's desk.

"Cheryl." he sighs, leaning back into his chair. "I know what you're going to ask me, and I'm sorry but the answer is no."

"But this is different." I try to plead my case. "My family...and the Topaz's...it's complicated, but I can't work with Fangs. Please, I'm sure there will be someone in class who is willing to swap with me?"

"I'm sure there is, but that's not the point, Cheryl." he actually does look a little sympathetic. "If I offer you a trade, then other people in the class will want to trade and then it will just be chaos. I can't show favoritism to anyone in my class, no matter the reason. I'm sorry but it's only going to be once a week for 3 months, it's not the end of the world."

Oh but it nearly is.

This semester is going to be hell.

* * *

Toni's POV

The second Fangs walks into my apartment I can immediately tell that he was not in the best of moods, especially after watching him slam my front door with a loud thud.

"Geez, what did the door ever do to you?" I smirk at him while pulling out two beers and throwing one across the room to a chuckling Sweets who is lounged on my sofa in my open planned apartment.

"I've had the worst day at school." Fangs grumbles and walks towards my fridge and goes to pull out a beer but I swat his hand away. "What?"

"Not for you baby brother." I tease him.

"Are you serious?! I'm not even a year younger than you!"

"And if you go home stinking of beer it'll just give your Mommy another reason to hate me, which leads to me getting more grief." I brush past him to go and sit on the armchair sofa lifting my feet up onto the coffee in front of me. "The chocolate milk is on the bottom shelf." I wink at him and watch as his scowl deepens.

"Thanks for adding to my shit day, Toni." he snaps at me and I laugh.

"Mate chill out, she's kidding." Sweets calls out with his British accent without even turning around to look at my brother.

I laugh as Fangs frowns for a moment before grunting something under his breath and pulling a beer out from the fridge and walking over and shoving Sweets' legs off the couch so he can sit down.

"You're an ass."

I chuckle and take a swig from my beer. "Come on then, tell me about your day." I can just see that he is dying to vent.

"Well it started off with getting a flat tire this morning on the way in to school so I had to call Jughead to come and pick me up, then when I eventually did get to school I realized I left my cellphone back in the car so he drove me all the way back again, and then to make matters worse I get to History and Mr Connor puts us into our presentation group, and guess who is my partner?"

"Um...Snoopy?" I wiggle my eyebrows at him.

"No." he glares at me. "Cheryl fucking Blossom."

I nearly choke on my drink. "Oh."

"That's crap, mate." Sweets chuckles amused. "But funny."

"Shut up." Fangs scowls. "I have the worst luck, how the hell am I supposed to work with Cheryl Blossom for three months? She's a bitch."

I tense slightly and grip onto my beer bottle a little tighter, staying silent.

"Hey, this is the perfect solution!" Sweet Pea sits up straight slightly and I look at him confused.

"And how the hell did you work that one out?"

"Think about it, Zach asked Toni to try and get in Blossom's house to steal that evidence, right? You're now working on a genuine school project with his daughter, ergo...the perfect excuse to get in their house."

I sit up straight. "He's actually right." I muse before adding. "For once."

Harry looks between us warily. "I don't know...that's risky, I mean, I can't exactly just go snooping around the place while Cheryl is right there."

"I'm sure you'll find an opportunity." Sweets reassures him. "You have more chance than Toni anyway." he chuckles. "How the hell did Zach expect you to get in with the Blossom's ?" he shakes his head amused and I smile slightly.

"Crazy." I murmur distractedly for a moment as I feel a huge weight lift off my shoulders and I'm not sure why.

Why was I so hesitant to try and get Cheryl to trust me enough to allow me into her home? I'd been 'bumping' into her all week, trying to get her to talk to me but I knew it wasn't working, I knew it was just pissing her off and even though that would usually amuse me, there was something different this time with me knowing that I had my own hidden agendas rather than just doing it because I wanted too.

"We still going to the Horan party tonight?" Sweets breaks me away from my thoughts yet again.

"Sure." Fangs takes a sip from his beer. "Toni?"

"Oh I'll be there." I smirk, thinking of what I have lined up to give everyone a good show tonight.

* * *

Cheryl's POV 

"Oh, where are you going sweetie?" My Mom walks into my bedroom without knocking to see me putting the finishing touches to my make up.

"I told you Mom, Nick St. Clair is throwing a back to school party." I realize there is no point in lying about where I'm heading because they'd probably find out about the party at the next council meeting or social event anyway.

"Oh that's tonight?" she looks hesitant for a moment. "I thought you were going to help me choose table flowers for the town Library fundraising event next weekend?"

Shit. I completely forgot about that.

"Can we reschedule?" I ask, noticing the slightly put out look on her face. It's a Friday night for God's sake, I do not want to spend it stuck at home with my mother looking at flower arrangements.

"That's not a very committed attitude, Cheryl Marjorie." she sounds disappointed. "You need to learn how to stick to your agreements."

"Ok, fine." I sigh. "I'll stay and help."

She stays silent for a moment before letting out a loud sigh of her own. "No, it's fine. You go the party."

I'm not buying it.

"I don't have to go, Mom, it's no big deal. I'll just text Archie to tell him not to come pick me up and then I'll be all yours."

"No dear." her voice is a little more solid. "You go and enjoy yourself, I do remember what it was like to be young and in love."

I force a smile and nod my head, watching with relief as she walks out of my bedroom and I turn back to face myself in the mirror and glance at the different photos along the side.

I pull off a photo that was taken of me and Archie not long before we started dating, we were friends for years first, in fact, I don't really remember a time when I didn't know Archie and he wasn't in my life. He has always been there, whether as a friend or something more, which is why I feel even more awful about what I have been doing to him lately.

I stare at the photo that looks almost unrecognizable to me now, we were so young, even though it was only taken just over a year ago. Archie looks different, I certainly look different, but at least I know that his personality hasn't changed since this was taken, unlike my own.

I jump slightly as my phone starts to vibrate on the dressing table in front of me and I pick up my cell to see that I have a text than none other than Shawn himself to let me know that he is waiting in the car outside.

I sigh and leave the photo off the mirror before grabbing my purse and quickly leaving my room, I shout goodbye to my Mom who is cooking dinner in the kitchen before quickly jogging down the porch steps and towards Archie's truck which is parked on the street.

"Hey." I jump in his car and plaster on a smile.

"Hi." he smiles sweetly back before pulling away. "You good?"

"Yeah." I nod my head. "I just hope this party will be fun."

"It will be." Archie answers confidently. "Michael told me that Nick has lots of beer and snacks, plus he even has a new sound system so the music will be awesome."

"Great."

"Oh and did you hear about Michael's new girl Amy who he has been hooking up with? Apparently she.." Archie trails off into a story that I have absolute no interest in. I try my best to pay attention but my mind keeps on drifting off elsewhere.

My phone vibrates again and I look down to see I have two text messages. I open the first one up from Josie.

Hurry up and get here girl!  
This party is freakin awesome  
xxx

I freeze when I see the next one. It's from Top T. aka, the code name in my phone for Toni.

Hope to do more than see you  
tonight sexy ;)

I frown in annoyance at the the way my heart rate started to speed up and quickly delete the text, glancing briefly at Archie who is still chatting away about something and I try and force myself to listen to what he is saying, knowing that he deserves so much better than me.

When we arrive at Nick St. Clair's mansion the party is already in full swing and Archie takes a hold of my hand before leading me inside, gently sliding past people to get through, polite smiles and happy grins as he makes his way through the crowds as one of the most popular boys in our junior class.

After finding our friends we all gather around a table and play a small game of truth or dare, it's nothing crazy or extreme but it's fun and I'm actually having a good time.

I even don't mind when Veronica joins in the game, taking her place beside Nick and I'm a little surprised when I see them share a kiss, unaware that they were together but then again it's Veronica Lodge so nothing surprises me with her.

"Room for two more?" I freeze at the familiar voice and turn my head to see Lauren approaching the table with a smirk on her face, Sweet Pea following close behind as per usual.

"Not tonight, Topaz." Nick glares at her.

"What?" Toni holds her hands up. "We just want to play, don't we Sweet Pea."

"Sure do mate." Sweet Pea grins and I don't miss the wink he sends towards Josie who instantly scoffs and looks away.

"Just let them play Nick." Michael joins in much to my surprise. "It's not worth the hassle to argue about this."

"Thanks mate." Sweet Pea smirks. "I knew you were my least hated Horan for a reason."

The game continues but when it fizzles out it changes to a game of I Never and that's when things go sour.

"I have never..." Sweet Pea begins with an amused look on his face. "Slept with Toni."

The table goes silent except for the slight chuckle coming from Toni's lips and I swear I feel my face starting to heat up and I clutch onto my plastic cup tightly.

Veronica scowls for a moment before taking a large swig of her drink and I don't miss the fierce look of anger that crosses Nick's face as we fall into an awkward pause of silence.

"Cheryl?"

My heart falls to my stomach and my head snaps towards Toni and I look at her with wide fearful eyes.

What the hell is she doing?

She is looking at me with a devils smirk on her lips and I swear time stops and it wouldn't surprise me if the whole group can hear the heavy beating of my heart.

"How's your Dad?" she eventually speaks again after what feels like hours and a rush of relief takes over my body when I realize that she is not about to blow my biggest secret.

Hell, that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off by this little stunt though!

"Why are you even bothering us, Toni?" Josie interrupts her from saying anything else, an angry glare on her face.

"Aw Barbie I am hurt, I thought we were friends." Toni pouts.

"Just go man, before I kick you out. Nobody wants you here!" Nick joins in and I sigh and take a step back, ready to escape this messed up situation.

"Now is that the way you normally speak to your guests Nick? So rude, now I'm really hurt." she smirks before glancing at her watch. "But I'll have you know, this whole thing..." she waves her finger around motioning to the lot of us. "Was all a ploy anyway." her eyes briefly land on mine and I frown confused. "Do you really think we'd want to spend time at a party with you idiots? Playing stupid immature drinking games? It was a method of distraction and you all fell for it." she laughs and Sweet Pea smirks beside her.

"What are you talking about?" Nick takes a step towards Toni, an angry frown on his face. \+ 

"Just one second and you'll find out." Toni smirks and like clockwork the music turns off and everyone looks around confused.

"DUDE WHERE'S THE MUSIC GONE?" Someone calls from the crowds of people as chatter starts to takeover. "WHAT THE HELL MAN?"

However, before Nick can even go to sort out his sound system, their big 60inch TV screen in the main room switches on and we all turn our heads in that direction and that's when I see the body of Veronica Lodge sat seductively on a bed in just her underwear, a flirtatious smirk on her face as she speaks out.

"You coming to join me or what gorgeous?"

"Just one second sexy." a deep voice replies from behind the camera and my heart starts to speed up again when I notice it sounds familiar.

I look at Veronica Lodge and watch as her face pales, her eyes darting to Toni's who just winks at her and my stomach drops when I turn back to the TV screen just in time to see a half naked Toni climb on top of her, her lips pressing against hers as her hands roam her naked flesh, Veronica's doing the exact same back to her. 

Oh my god.

It's a sex tape.

"Turn it off!" Veronica screams before darting off towards the TV. "Someone turn it off! Nick do something!" she shouts desperately, her eyes watering.

Nick is stood frozen in shock and I feel sick as I watch the screen before me.

Toni looks so smug that all I want to do is reach across and slap her in the face, however we both know that I can't exactly do that.

After what seems like hours, but I think it was merely just minutes, Veronica eventually finds the remote control to turn off the TV just in time before things got really dirty.

The party falls to a silence, before the whispering and the giggles start and I look back at Toni who is looking directly at Veronica with a smirk on her face and I am horrified to think that she could do this to someone.

No matter how much of a bitch Veronica is, this is just wrong.

Everything else that happens is a blur, but I do know that Nick pounced on Toni and the two ended up having a fight which was eventually broken up by Michael and Sweet Pea, Toni was obviously kicked out of the house, Sweet Pea too and not long after that the party was over and Michael was shouting at everyone to leave, Nick and Veronica long gone somewhere, probably arguing this out.

"Wow..well...that was interesting." Betty mumbles as we walk back towards her car, Shawn going back to stay at a friends house to play computer games so Betty said she'd take me home, along with Josie.

"Toni Topaz is such a dick." Josie rants angrily. "I mean, I don't like Veronica, and she clearly is a slut, but that was just humiliating."

"I know." I murmur quietly. A sickly feeling in my stomach, wondering if maybe Toni has secretly recorded us too.

Shit.

I know now that whatever was going on between Toni and I needs to stop now.

For good.

* * *

Toni's POV

"Oh man, did you see St. Clair's face?" Sweets laughs as we walk into my apartment and he immediately walks towards the fridge and throws me a beer.

I force a smile as I take a large swig before sitting down on the couch and turning on the TV.

"I thought you'd be more happy about it?" Sweets looks at me confused. "I know you got a black eye from it but surely it was worth it to get back at him and Veronica?"

"It was worth it." I answer back immediately.

"Then why do you look so moody?" He asks confused.

"I'm not." I huff. "I'm just tired, it's been a long day."

"Alright mate. Whatever you say." Sweets holds his hands up, knowing exactly when to drop it.

I sigh and take another swig of my beer as I think back to what happened tonight.

The moment when Veronica realized what was happening was a highlight in my life, it really was, after everything that bitch did to me when I was actually a good girlfriend to her. I treated her right, I was faithful.

Unlike her.

I know she cheated on me, despite how much she likes to pretend otherwise. She cheated on me with Nick, numerous of times, she just doesn't know that I know it.

She doesn't know that that is why I broke up with her, and not for the reason of me just being bored and wanting to be single, which is what I told her at the time.

But I'm guessing after tonight's stunt she'll have a clearer idea.

Revenge is sweeter than she ever was and as far as I am concerned she deserved everything she got.

That's not what is bothering me though.

No.

It was the look on Cheryl's face when she realized what was happening that got to me.

That look of horror, disgust and shame that crossed her features as she looked between me and the TV.

I don't know why it got to me so much, I mean, really, Cheryl is no different to Veronica in some ways. They both cheat on their boyfriends, they both cheat with me. The only difference is Veronica cheated on me too.

In fact, Cheryl is probably worse, because at least Veronica doesn't pretend to be something that she's not, too afraid to show the world her real self, too afraid to not be who her parents want her to be, to be what her parents expect her to be.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts by a text on my phone and I'm more than shocked to see that it's from Cheryl herself.

We need to talk. Now.  
Meet me at old St. Clair  
cellar.

I jump up to my feet and grab my leather jacket and swing it on after placing my beer bottle onto the coffee table in front of me.

"Where are you going?" Sweets asks confused. "It''s almost midnight."

"Out." I reply vaguely as I walk towards the door but then stop. "Actually, you best make yourself scarce."

"Oh I see," Sweets smirks while standing up. "Booty call?"

I smile and shrug. "Something like that." I wink slightly, hoping that I'll be able to convince Cheryl to come back with me tonight.

It seems like it's been far too long since her perfect little body was wrapped up in mine.

I drive towards woods and park my car, seeing Cheryl's is already there, before stepping out and making the small trek through the trees towards the old St. Clair ruins. I stop at the top of the steps and look around to make sure there no drunk or stoned teens hanging around this Friday night before quickly jogging down the steps.

I stop to see Cheryl stood with her back to me, her hair lying straight on her back, as her arms a clearly folded in front of her.

I clear my throat and watch as she slowly turns around, a small glare on her face and I immediately smirk because this is nothing we haven't played out before.

She starts off pretending that she doesn't really want me here, despite being the one who called or texted me, she plays hard to get, before eventually after she makes sure I've worked hard enough, she gives in and relishes in what we are.

Who we are together.

"You came." she sounds a little surprised and I don't know why.

"I always do." I reply with a slight smirk. "You know that."

She doesn't say anything and I frown a little, because even though she does always start off distant, there is something different about this time, something in the way she is standing, in the way that she is looking at me.

Her eyes aren't lingering on my body like they usually do and there isn't that usual sparkle there.

"You ok?" I take a step closer to her but she just holds her arm out to tell me to stop.

"I just want to ask you one thing, Toni." her voice is cold, distant. "And please, just give me an honest answer."

"Ok..." I reply warily, unsure of where she is going with this.

"Do you..." she trails off and for a moment she almost looks embarrassed. "I mean...we've obviously been together in your apartment and...well...have you ever...I mean..."

Realization crosses over me immediately.

"You want to know if I have a sex tape of us together?" I cut in bluntly.

Cheryl shrugs slightly before nodding her head and looking down to the concrete floor.

"Why would you ask that, Cheryl?"

Her head snaps up to face me, her eyes now on fire as a look of anger takes over her features. "Why would I ask that? Are you serious, Toni? Really?!" she raises her voice slightly before she attempts to control herself, but I can still hear the anger in her tone. "How can you even ask me that after the crappy stunt you pulled tonight with Veronica!"

"But you're not Veronica." I reply simply.

She pauses for a moment and opens and closes her mouth, seemingly thrown off by my comment but I don't know why.

Despite my earlier thoughts about their similarities, Cheryl isn't actually Veronica.

She's not manipulative like Veronica is, she doesn't deliberately set out to hurt people like Veronica does.

She's just also not perfect like Veronica either, she's also a liar too, just like Veronica.

But still, her and Veronica are two completely different people when it actually comes down to it. Standing here right now in front of Cheryl, I can see that.

"Just answer the question, Toni."

"No." I answer with a frown. "And I'm actually a little offended that you would think that of me."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Oh my god, you are unbelievable! Do you hear yourself right now? You did an awful thing tonight, Toni! You deliberately set out to hurt someone, two people actually, and humiliate them! That's not normal behavior! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You don't know anything, Cheryl!" I glare at her. "You don't know Veronica like I do."

"No, maybe not. But what I do know is that what you did tonight was wrong, it was disgusting and...I can't be around someone like that."

"Oh here we go." I let out a laugh and shake my head. "The good girl ends things with the bad girl yet again. How many times have we played out this scenario, Cheryl? Are we onto our, what? Fourth time now? I know how this goes; you'll end whatever the hell this is," I wave my finger between us both. "And go back to your perfect princess preppy life, until yet again you get bored because that life isn't you and you'll come running back to me again until the next time I do something else to piss you off or you get a big rush of guilt and the whole process repeats all over again!"

"No, it's different this time!" she argues back angrily. "You disgust me, Toni! I can't believe I even went near you, never mind sleep with you!"

I smirk. "Oh please, we both know how much you loved every moment of it, because we both know that nobody else makes you feel the way that I make you feel! We both know that your own boyfriend can't satisfy you the way that I can." she falters for a moment and I can tell that I am getting to her and I take a step forward. "We have a spark Cheryl, you can deny it all you want, but it's there. It's there when we touch...it's there when we kiss...it's there when I'm inside of you and you're screaming out my name." I watch as her jaw clenches tightly and she looks away.

"Just leave me alone, Toni." her voice is shaky now and I know that I'm getting to her, breaking through her barriers all over again.

Repeating the process. Continuing the cycle.

"You were the one who text me, Cheryl." I point out almost smugly.

"Yes, to tell you that this needs to stop!" and just like that, she's angry again, her voice stern and hard.

"Ok, fine." I scoff. "But just so you know, that tape Veronica and I made? It wasn't anything sinister at the time, ok? I didn't record it without her knowing, hell if I remember correctly it was her damn idea!" I grin for a moment. "I bet she is regretting it now though, damn I should have made an extra copy." I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

"God you are such an ass!" Cheryl groans in frustration and goes to walk past me but I grab her arm and stop her, pulling her against me.

"Don't fight this, Cheryl, you know I'm right."

However I'm shocked when her hand reaches back and she slaps me full force across the face.

Hard.

I wince and drop her arm and watch as Cheryl stares at me with a fierce glare in her eyes.

"Stay away from me, Toni! Don't call me, don't text me, don't even look at me! I mean it!" and with that she turns on her heel and storms away.

I stay still for a moment before slowly lifting my hand to hold my stinging cheek where she just hit me and a sudden annoying unwanted feeling overtakes me as I realize that Cheryl may actually be completely serious this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Toni's POv

September 29th 2012.

Saturday 9:30pm.

Riverdale.

Zach lights up a cigarette as he sits at my small wooden table that is placed to the side of my open kitchen, looking out of my second floor window that looks out into the street below. His shoulders are tense and I stand in silence as he smokes before me, barely speaking a word since he arrived ten minutes ago.

I can't take the silence for much longer however.

"Uncle Zach-"

"Stop!" he cuts me off coldly. "Don't talk, I'm trying to think." he puffs on his cigarette and I sigh and run my hand through my hair nervously, not really sure what else I'm supposed to do right now. After a few more minutes of eerie silence he finally speaks up. "This is one big mess, Toni."

"I know."

"You know? That's great." he mutters sarcastically and at least I know where my attitude came from. "I asked you to do one thing for me, Toni, one thing." he slams his fist against my cheap table and I watch as it rattles for a moment from the impact.

"Oh come on, that one thing was practically impossible! Besides, I already told you that Fangs had more chance of getting in with the Blossom's than I did anyway!"

"You think if I wanted Fangs to do it I wouldn't have asked him in the first place?" he stands to his feet and stares at me with anger in his eyes. "I didn't ask Fangs! I asked you! You're the one I trust the most in this damn family to get things done my way, Toni! I don't trust your other Uncles, I don't trust your cousins, I don't trust your brother!"

"Why the hell not? Fangs is trustworthy! You know fine well he is!" I argue, defending my little brother because he has only ever done what Zach has asked of him.

"With some things, yes." he admits. "But face it, he's a Daddy's boy so when it comes down to it, he'll side with Thomas."

"I wasn't aware that there were any sides here." I frown confused. "As far as I was concerned, we're all on the same side, we're all a family and we all stick together. You told me that."

Zach shakes his head in annoyance. "You're missing the point. I asked you for your help and you let me down, you didn't even try!"

I gulp slightly and look away because he is right. With everything that happened with Cheryl three weeks ago, I haven't even made an effort to try and get into the home and I definitely didn't stand a chance in trying to get inside the McCoy and especially the St. Clair's right now.

"Look I'm sorry ok, I really am." I tell him sincerely. "But surely there is another way, if not through Fangs then through someone else. You must know people who can make this whole mess disappear."

Zach stays silent before putting out his cigerette. "If I do manage to get myself out of this situation then it won't have anything to do with you." he practically huffs before reaching out into his back pocket and pulling out a small see through packet of white pills and throwing them at me. "Now go and get rid of all of these for me will you, I would actually like to make some money before I end my life behind bars." he practically snarls at me and I sigh before shoving them in my pocket and walking out of the door.

I know better than to argue with him about giving me the crappy jobs like trying to push pills in clubs, especially since I'm already in his bad books right now anyway.

* * *

Cheryl's POV

"So Cheryl, I'm guessing you're going to ask Archie to be your escort at Miss Riverdale?" Josie leans back against my couch from her place on the floor, sipping on a homemade milkshake as she casually flicks through a fashion magazine, a repeat of a reality TV show that she loves playing quietly in the background.

"Um I haven't really thought about it," I stifle a yawn as I lay back on the couch to get comfortable "I guess so."

"You guess so?" Josie glances back at me confused.

"Well I mean...it's not for another few months yet." I explain myself distractedly as I fiddle with my phone between my fingers. "Who knows what will happen."

"What, you don't think that you and Archie will still be together then?" she swings around to face me, shock evident on her face.

"No, no." I quickly shake my head. "That's not what I meant, I just mean that I haven't spoken to him about it yet, I don't even know if he'd want to do it."

"Oh I'm sure he would sweetie." My Mom walks into the room with a mug of coco in her hand, reminding us that she could hear every word we were saying from where she was in the kitchen. "You should ask him soon, you may think that the event is far away but January will come by before you even know it, trust me. Besides, you still need to pick out a dress and make sure that Archie gets a suit that matches, you know that sort of thing impresses the judges."

"So true." Josie agrees. "I haven't picked a date yet but it doesn't matter because I have already pre-booked three of the same suits in three different sizes that will match my dress." she grins enthusiastically.

I almost gawp at her. Three of the same suit in three different sizes? Is she serious? Talk about over doing it.

"You see Cheryl Marjorie, I told you I wasn't just nagging when I said you really needed to make a start in preparation." My Mom jumps straight on the bandwagon, clearly wishing I was as excited and enthusiastic about these kinds of events as Josie always is.

I sigh and stop myself from rolling my eyes. "I know Mom, don't worry about it." I take a sip from my milkshake. "I'll find a nice dress, and a suit for Archie." I add.

"Oh we should all go shopping tomorrow to look!" Josie squeals with excitement, leaning forward.

"It's a Sunday." I try and discourage her immediately.

"So? The mall in Greendale is open on Sunday's and it's only a two hour drive away, plus the stores there are so much better than what we have here anyway! No offence to Mrs Patterson, but her selection of dresses isn't exactly extraordinary." Josie rolls her eyes slightly as she critiques our local dress boutique before continuing "Will you come too Mrs Blossom? I'm sure we could use all the help we can."

"Oh yes, that sounds great. I'll drive." My mom smiles happily, clearly pleased to be around someone who has as much enthusiasm about this competition as she does.

Maybe they can both go shopping together and leave me at home alone with some peace.

"I haven't even agreed to this yet." I try not to lose my patience. "I have homework I still need to do and-"

"Oh nonsense Cheryl." My Mom cuts me off, waving her hand. "You can do that once we get back. Don't worry sweetheart, I promise we will find the perfect dress for you, you don't have to stress about it."

Right, because that's why I don't want to go.

* * *

Toni's POV

This party sucks.

I gave up on going to the clubs to try and sell these pills that my Uncle Zach gave me when I came across a Whitmore college frat party, figuring I'd just get the job done here instead.

And although I have managed to sell a good percentage of them, that doesn't make up for the fact that this party is as dull as dishwater and if this is what real college parties are like and not the shit you see in the movies and on TV then I really am glad that my grades suck so bad that no where will probably accept me anyway, even if I did bother to apply.

I sigh and shut down another girls attempt at flirting. Normally, I would jump at the chance to hook up with college girls, I mean there is always something so much crazier and wilder about them than high school girls, probably the experience and their feelings of freedom being away from their parents.

But tonight is different.

And I absolutely detest the fact that the reason why is that I don't want to have sex with anyone but Cheryl fucking Blossom.

She's successfully avoided me for three weeks now, I've barely even seen a glance of her. I don't know where she's been hiding, or how she's been avoiding me so well, but it's been working.

And with each passing day, I'm starting to really believe that when Cheryl did end it that Friday night in the old Horan cellars, that she really did end it for good.

Which sucks, because she is the best sex that I've ever had.

Despite her annoying stubborn self-righteous personality.

I grunt and down the rest of the cheap stale beer in my plastic cup before throwing it onto the floor in frustration.

Fuck Cheryl Blossom. I don't need her anyway.

I pull out the small packet of pills from my pocket before sliding one out into my palm. I stare at it for a moment before pushing the bag back in my pocket and placing the left over pill between my fingers.

I walk towards one of the many kegs and pour myself another cup of beer before placing the pill on my tongue, swishing back the beer and letting it slide down my throat.

I'm sure Zach won't notice if I'm a little short, besides, it's not like I've never actually done it before either. It's just something that I do on a rare occasion, when I really need to let loose and escape from the world for a little while.

I sigh in satisfaction before looking around the party to see where, or who I can have some fun with.

I stop when my eyes land on a pretty brunette head across the room who is looking just as bored as I felt five minutes ago. There is something different about her, something that makes her stand out from the rest of this crowd and I smirk before making my way over to her, waiting for the effects of the pill to kick in.

"I was going to offer you a drink but then I realized that the crap they call alcohol here isn't even worthy of the cheap plastic we drink it from." I take note of the glare on her face as she eyes me up and down and an idea crosses my mind. "So I figured...a girl who looks as bored as you do at a college party is probably used to something far more fun...and dangerous." I smirk and pull out a pill, not missing the way her eyes light up as she eyes it for a moment. "Well?"

"I'm Diana." she holds out her hand and I grin.

Worked like a charm.

"Toni." I take her hand and bring it to my lips before pressing a slow kiss to her knuckles. I step closer to her so we are almost flushed together before I place the pill onto my tongue. She eyes me for a moment with a hint of smirk on her lips before she grabs the back of my neck with her hands and crashes my mouth against hers. I moan against her lips but it's not long until her tongue slides across mine and she removes the pill onto her own and pulls away and I watch amused as she swallows it smugly.

"Thanks." she winks at me, her body lingering in front of my own.

"You know, I usually charge people for that."

"What? A kiss?" she teases and I let out a laugh and shake my head. "I'm sure I'll find some other way to pay you back." she tugs on my hand, pulling me through the crowds of drunk students and I follow her. "Come on Toni, let me show you what real fun at a real college party is like."

Colors.

Lots and lots of color is all I see, and I don't even know what makes the floor to the walls, but it feels like just one big blur of beautiful colors that have come together in one massive colorful explosion.

I don't know where I am, but all I know there wherever it is that I am, it is the coolest place ever.

Diana twirls around in front of me, a giggle spilling out of her lips as she reaches out her hand and runs it down my face. I frown confused, but when she draws two lines underneath each eye on her own face I realize that it's UV paint on her fingers.

Oh.

Interesting.

I watch amazed as the luminous colors light up her face and I lift up my own hand and slowly reach it out to touch her face, tracing the lines drawn with my fingers, the colors overtaking me. The red, the orange merging together and I stare at her for a moment mesmerized, because this is truly beautiful. She is beautiful.

"Come." she says one word and it echos through my ears and I let her lead me through the colorful wonderful beautiful place that we are gliding through. I feel like I am floating, Diana holding one hand while the other lifts to the side, like I am pretending to fly.

Maybe I am.

It sure feels like it.

We walk into another room and it's so much darker, the colors aren't as bright, in fact, the only real color is the dark red walls. The floors are jet black, like you are standing on a big dark empty hole and part of me feels like I am about to fall through it, so I grip onto Diana's hand tighter as she pulls me towards a small group of people who are all sat around in a circle and that's when I see the bong in the middle, the smoke floating around, barely visible in the darkness.

Diana pulls me down onto the floor to sit beside her, she doesn't speak, instead she pulls a tube from the bong and places it between her lips and I watch as she inhales with a sigh before exhaling contently, the smoke floating from between her parted lips and it's the hottest thing I've seen all night.

She passes it slowly to me and I don't waste a second before inhaling the substance, letting the feeling slide down my throat and into my lungs. I close my eyes and lean backwards so I am now lying on my back and that's when I notice the luminous dark blue ceiling and the yellow dots glowing like stars.

Holy shit.

That is frickin awesome.

I feel a body beside me and I turn my head slightly to see that it's Diana and it takes a second for me to realize that she is now holding my hand.

We lay like that for a while, I'm not sure for how long but eventually Diana tugs on my hand and pulls me up to my feet. She leads me back out of the room and I follow her along to another one. She stops and knocks for a second before stepping inside and I frown when I see it's a bathroom.

This room isn't so beautiful.

There's two men in there and I hang back as Diana approaches them. I frown as they share smiles and giggles and I don't miss the look they all send me before Diana signals for me to come over.

I slowly do, my feet still feel like they are walking on air and Diana smirks at me before motioning to the white powder on the side of the sink.

"You first." she whispers huskily into my ear, her hand stroking my back and I lean down before sniffing up, letting the powder fly up my nose towards my brain, and it's almost like I can feel every single particle as it does.

Diana smirks and pats my cheek before leaning down herself and taking two lines. I watch as she wipes her nose with her hand before turning back to face me, both hands on my chest before she pushes me back out of the room almost as quickly as we came in.

"I feel like I'm flying." I blurt out stupidly, my voice sounding light and unfamiliar, like it's coming from someone else.

Someone else who is trapped in my body.

Diana giggles and lets go of my hand to raise her own in the air and I watch as she tilts her head back. "Then let's fly, Toni."

I don't really understand what she means, but she grabs my hand again and starts to run and I just know that I need to follow her.

We keep running, and running and she's right, I do feel like I am flying. I can almost feel the wind hitting against my cheeks, messing up my hair, despite us being indoors in a place that is hot and stuffy and a feeling of lack of air.

We come to a stop and she giggles before opening a door to another dark room, but this time there is no luminous colors on the walls or the ceiling.

She turns around and pulls me in, closing the door behind me before slamming me back against it and that's when she kisses me.

No hidden agendas this time.

It doesn't take me long to respond to the kiss and I moan into her mouth as her hand runs down my chest and over the bulge in my pants.

I open my eyes briefly as she pulls me back towards the double bed that is placed in the middle of the room but when I do, Diana's brunette hair is gone.

Instead it's been replaced with red, and her hazel eyes are now a dark chocolate color.

Diana is no longer Diana.

Diana is Cheryl.

I attack her lips immediately, all for a sudden a rush of hunger, want and need overtakes me and I almost feel like a wild animal as I push her down onto the bed and climb on top of her, ripping off her clothes as quickly as I can, not caring if I've ruined them or not.

Before I know it my shirt has been discarded and Cheryl flips me over before tugging onto my pants and pulling them down, she smirks at me with that devilish less than innocent smile of hers that she keeps for only me, before shoving down my boxers and taking my rock hard member into her mouth.

"Oh God!" I gasp and close my eyes as she deep throats me. "Don't stop." I place my hand in her thick red hair as the other grips onto the pillow beside me tightly.

Oh my God she is amazing.

Cheryl Blossom is actually a goddess.

Everything about her, her hair, her eyes, her nose, her smile, her legs, her breasts, her cute little butt. Everything screams beauty, sexiness and as she bobs her head up and down, sucking on my hard penis I know that she is absolutely the most perfect woman.

She oozes sex.

She stops before I am completely satisfied though and I sit up with annoyance but the sneaky grin on her face shows me that I'm not about to be disappointed. I watch confused for a moment though as Cheryl climbs off of me and leans down from the bed, however just a moment later she reappears with a condom in her hand and a smirk on her face.

I smile back and let her place it over my throbbing penis, wondering if the head she gave me moments ago was the only foreplay we would be doing tonight.

Normally Cheryl and I like to have a lot of fun before we get down to the real good stuff.

However tonight she seems impatient and I certainly do not complain as she sinks down onto me, her hands pressed down on my chest.

"Oh god." I gasp as she starts to slowly thrust against me, backwards and forth, up and down. "Harder!" I moan, my fingers digging into her thighs. "Yes, Cheryl," I shudder in excitement "Oh Cheryl...you're amazing baby, yes."

Then it stops.

I open my eyes confused at why she's stopped moving and look up to see that her red hair is now brown again.

Her deep dark brown pools have gone back to Hazel.

It's not Cheryl.

No.

It's Diana.

A wave of disappointment washes over me and I squint trying to figure out what's going on but Diana doesn't seem as interested in this as she was before.

And frankly, neither am I.

I watch powerlessly as she climbs up from me and moves to the side of the bed and silently pulls on her top over her head, not saying a word.

I stare as she finishes getting dressed before glancing back at me with a small smile on her face. "I did have fun tonight, Toni. Thank you." she pauses for a moment before speaking again. "But I'm obviously not the one who you want to be here with right now."

She walks out of the room and leaves me laying here alone without looking back.

* * *

Cheryl's POV 

"So...what do you want to do tonight?" I ask Archie the next day as I sit on his desk chair while he sits in his bed playing on his Xbox.

I spent the whole day in Greendale shopping with my Mom and Josie to find me a dress for the Miss Riverdale competition. It was almost worse than hell, shopping with my mother and Josie separately is bad enough, but when they are both together? It is unbearable.

But I pushed myself through it with a fake smile and fake enthusiasm and eventually we did find a dress that wasn't totally awful that my Mom and Josie both loved and I tolerated.

"I dunno," Archie answers my previous question and shrugs distractedly. "The Grill?"

I sigh in annoyance. "Really? We go there nearly every night."

"So? It's fun and all our friends hang out there."

"Don't you get bored of it though? I mean, you work there half the week and the other half you spend there anyway! Surely you must get sick of the place..."

"Not really." he answers without paying attention as his fingers smack against the buttons in his game controller.

I shake my head and look down at my phone, my finger subconsciously tapping onto my contacts.

"Well, why don't we go somewhere different tonight?" I suggest.

"Like where?" he asks without looking at me, his eyes glued to the screen and I watch as he shoots some kind of zombie and lets out a small cheer. I roll my eyes.

"I don't know...just somewhere different." I trail. "We could even try going somewhere outside of Riverdale, just get in the car and drive until we find some place...see where we end up." I smile but it quickly fades.

"I don't know, Cheryl. I'm quite happy to go to The Grill, besides, some of the guys will be there too and I'm sure your girlfriends will be around."

"Right, of course." I sigh and scroll down the list of contacts before stopping on the one I haven't used in over three weeks.

Top T. aka Toni Topaz.

No.

Don't even go there.

I scold myself and quickly move off the page and lock my phone, placing it on the desk away from me, away from any kind of temptation. I need to end all contact with Toni Topaz for good.

She's an asshole.

An asshole I never want to speak to again.

I notice the sounds of shooting and zombie shrills stop and I look up to see Archie jump off his bed and walk towards me, kneeling down in front of me. "Hey come on." he smiles and places his hands on each side of my cheeks. "The Grill isn't that bad, and they do good food."

"I know," I force a smile. "I just thought we could have maybe done something else for a change."

"Why bother looking for change when we have a perfectly good hang out spot already?" he smiles sweetly at me. "Besides, it's just somewhere to go for dinner. No big deal."

"I know." I reply and he leans forward to kiss me for a moment before jumping back up to his feet.

"Let me go quickly shower and then we'll go, ok?"

"Ok." I nod my head and watch as he picks up his towel and leaves the room, but not before sending me one last sweet Archie Andrews smile in my direction that he has been giving me for as long as I can remember.

Some things in life never change.


	6. Chapter 6

Cheryl's POV

October 1st 2012.

Monday 6:00pm.

Riverdale.

_Do you ever wonder if we make the moments in our lives or the moments in our lives make us? Ever wonder how long it takes to change your life? What measure of time is enough to be life-altering? Is it four years, like high school? One year? An eight-week walking tour? Can your life change in a month, or a week, or a single day? We're always in a hurry to grow up, to go places, to get ahead...but when you're young, one hour can change everything..._

I take a sip from my cold lemonade as I stand by the bar in The Grill waiting for Archie to start his break so we can go sit down for dinner.

Looking around the place, I'm not surprised it's not as busy as it usually is at this time of day, the second I walked in here I wanted to walk straight back out of it.

It's ridiculously hot, and stuffy and I lift up my t-shirt slightly to air it out as it sticks to my back, letting out a puff of breath up over my face in an attempt to cool myself down.

"Hey Cheryl," Ashley from the cheer squad who also works part time here at The Grill walks past with a smile and I send her a small wave and a quick greeting back, her uniform covering her petite body.

"How come it's so hot in here?"

"The AC is broke I think," she explains with a shrug. "I'm not really sure, I just started my shift but I do know that the boiler has been acting up lately." I nod my head, hoping that they get it fixed soon because it's becoming unbearable in here.

"You waiting for Archie?" she asks confused since I'm stood alone.

"Yeah, he should be on a break soon, right?" I double check the time, usually he gets 30 minutes at six, and since it's not particularly busy she didn't think there would be a delay.

"He's already on it." Ashley motions to the other side of the restaurant. "I'm sure I saw him head over there with Michael St. Clair about five minutes ago."

"Great." I mutter annoyed before forcing a smile. "Thanks." I follow in the direction she pointed me in, and just as Ashley said, there's Archie sat laughing and joking with Michael.

"Cheryl, there you are." Archie grins and moves along motioning for me to join him but I stop at the edge of the table.

"I thought we were meeting for dinner today." I go straight into it, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"We are," Archie looks confused for a moment. "I was just talking to Michael first..."

"You told me to meet you at the bar at six." I practically huff, wondering why I'm being so immature about this and overreacting.

Archie glances at Michael for a moment who looks a bit uncomfortable before standing up. "Let's go talk somewhere more private." he takes a hold of my hand before I can argue and pulls me into the back storage room. "What was that, Cheryl?"

"What was what?" I snap impatiently. "We were supposed to meet at six, I was stood waiting for you like an idiot."

"You're overreacting." he frowns. "In fact, you've been like this for weeks!"

"Like what?" I answer despite me knowing that I have been a bitch lately, but I can't seem to help it. I know I'm being unreasonable, I know I'm being harsh but the words keep leaving my mouth before I can stop them.

"Moody and snappy, you're getting angry at me for no reason. Most of the time it's like you're in a completely different place to everyone else, your mind always elsewhere." his eyebrows crease together. "Have I done something to upset you?"

"No!" I snap in frustration. "But good to know what you really think of me."

"This is what I mean, Cheryl! This isn't like you! What is going on?" he asks me almost desperately.

"Nothing is going on, Archie!" I argue back before wiping my brow as I feel a drop of sweat fall from my forehead. "God, why is it so damn hot in here!"

"The boilers broke." Archie mutters half halfheartedly before taking a step closer. "Cheryl, talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Archie." I look away for a moment because he doesn't deserve this and I know that I'm not being fair to him. "You're right, I'm overreacting again and I'm sorry."

"I just wish you'd talk to me." he places his hand on my arm and I go to flinch and pull away but stop myself. "What is going on with you, Cheryl? I feel like you're drifting away from me..."

"I'm still me." I look at his hazel eyes as I feel my own watering. "I promise." I need to make myself believe it. "I'm still the Cheryl Blossom you fell in love with, who you grew up with. I swear that I am still that girl, I'm not changing, Archie, I'm still me."

"I know that." he looks a little baffled for a moment. "If there is something going on with you, Cheryl, you need to tell me."

"No." I shake my head, frustration starting to over take me. "Everything is fine. I'm sorry I overreacted, I'll go apologize to Michael for being rude and we can just go on as normal, ok?"

Archie looks at me skeptically. "You're saying the words but I'm not sure that I believe you."

"Why not?"

"Because you look like you're ten seconds away from crying, Cheryl! And that isn't someone who is fine." I clench my jaw and turn my head away.

God, pull yourself together!

"I am fine." I look back to face him, pushing down my emotions. "It's...it's that time of month, I'm just hormonal." I lie with a force smile and Archie's whole demur changes.

"Ok," he quickly nods his head, wiping some sweat away from his eyebrows. "I get it...girl stuff." he smiles a little and I throw one back as a way of reassurance. It works. "So now that this is sorted, why don't we eat before my break is over?"

"Yeah," I agree and go to follow him out but all for a sudden a burst of heat and impact comes from behind me, a noise louder than I can describe hurting my ears and before I can even think about what is happening I feel my body go flying forwards out of my own control and then everything went black.

* * *

Toni's POV

I stop the car as I turn the corner from the town square to see a small crowd of people stood outside of The Grill. I switch the gear into park before I climb out and walk towards the commotion, curious to see what is going on.

I only take a few steps forward before a loud explosion goes off and one of the windows of The Grill smashes through, a cloud of smoke following it as it pours out with broken glass.

Shit.

The Grill is on fire.

I start to run towards it, briefly wondering why the hell there fire brigade aren't anywhere in sight, but there are police and I notice Sheriff Hansen trying to push everyone back away from the flames and urging them all to calm down.

"What happened?" I spot Jughead among the crowd and approach him quickly.

"I have no idea, I was just playing pool in there when some sort of explosion came from the kitchen, we all ran out, obviously, but apparently there are still people trapped inside."

"Shit." I watch with wide eyes as flames are clearly getting stronger. "Any idea who?" I ask worriedly, momentarily trying to think of where Fangs said he was going to be tonight.

"I don't know but the fire brigade need to get here fast because it's not looking good man. They need to get whoever is in there out ASAP." Jughead muses before looking to his right. "Although judging from Detective Blossom right now, I'm guessing maybe he knows someone stuck inside."

My heart stops.

I look past Jughead and he's right, Clifford Blossom is arguing with two uniformed police officers who are clearly struggling to hold him back and I hurriedly but discreetly make my way over to near where they are stood.

"Clifford, we have to wait for the fire services! I'm sorry but you can't go in there it's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! My daughter is in there! Let me go!" he practically screams and before I can even think about it I turn on my heel and run back in the other direction, ignoring Jughead's calls about where I'm going.

I sprint around the corner and run further down the road before heading into the public library, thankful that it's not busy and there doesn't seem to be hardly anyone around. They are probably all stood outside The Grill being useless and gawping.

I glance around briefly, making sure no one can see me before walking into the unlocked staff room, and then through another door and down the stairs into the basement.

I'm now extremely thankful that my memory of the maps my Uncle Zach showed me of the underground tunnels in Riverdale are still fresh in my brain.

"Sometimes it's better to move things along under the untrained eye. You should know about these tunnels, as an option, you never know when you may need to get around unnoticed." He told me once and I know that he often uses these tunnels to traffic drugs in and out of Riverdale.

One of my father's company's were hired about fifteen years ago to make sure that all the underground tunnels in Riverdale were completely sealed off and buried in.

Thomas of course had his own ideas, and to this day not many people know about some of the tunnels still being in use.

I crawl through the shaft in the basement that leads down into the tunnels before climbing through into it. I take out my cellphone and turn on the torch app to see through the darkness. It's not the best but it will have to do.

I need to get Cheryl out of there.

I stand still for a moment and try to work out where about it is that I am and which way I need to go to get to The Grill. There is no point in me running crazily into one direction if it's the wrong way. I need to stay calm and think about this carefully, pulling at my memory and trying to work it out.

After eventually gathering my bearings, I turn to my left and run, praying that I won't be too late.

* * *

Cheryl's POV

The first thing I feel is pain.

The second is the fact that I'm struggling to breathe.

I peel my eyes open as I start to cough, choking on the dusty smoke that is overpowering the room.

What the hell happened?

I lift myself up, squinting through the dark smokey room and suddenly a wave of panic hits me as I realize what is going on.

"Oh god," I press my hand against my forehead and feel hot sticky blood before another wave of realization hits me. "Archie!" I look around the dark room but I can't see my boyfriend anywhere. "Achie!" I cough, choking on the smoke and I feel my skin laying with sweat from the unbearable heat.

I can't see any flames just yet though.

However, the back wall that would block this room off from the kitchen is damaged, almost destroyed and as I pull myself up to my feet and hobble towards it, and that's when I see the flames overpowering the large kitchen.

Shit.

They'll be coming this way soon.

"Archie!" I swing back around and finally I see the body of my boyfriend lying on the floor. "Oh god!" I run towards him, landing back on my knees beside him and immediately shake him. "Archie! Please, wake up we need to get out of here! Archie!" I cough some more, and lean down, thankful to hear that he is breathing.

"Archie please!" I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks as a groan comes from his lips and his body shuffles. "Archie, thank god!" I watch as his eyes open and he looks at me confused before he starts to cough.

"What...what happened?"

"I don't know...there was some sort of explosion." I turn my head back in the direction of the kitchen. "There's a fire...it's spreading, we need to leave!"

"Ok, ok." Archie nods his head and I pretend not to notice the large gash on his head, blood dripping down his face at a much faster pace than my own. He goes to sit up and climb to his feet but he's a little unsteady.

"Hey, I've got you." I hold him up against me and we hobble towards the door, however the second I touch the handle the metal burns my hand and I scream and pull my hand away. "Oh my god," I gasp in pain, my eyes stinging and I look down to see smoke coming from the small gap underneath the door. "Shit."

"We're trapped." Archie speaks with wide eyes and suddenly I feel like throwing up.

I let out another painful cough, the smoke getting almost unbearable and it's becoming harder and harder to see.

Harder and harder to breathe.

"Is there another way out?" I ask Archie, not even bothering to hide my panic now. "Please tell me there's another way out!"

He shakes his head and then points behind me. "Only through the kitchen."

"But that's impossible!"

"Shit!" Archie punches the wall in frustration and I feel the tears burning in my eyes.

"I don't want to die!" A sob escapes my lips before I can stop it and I shake my head. "I can't die like this."

Archie stays silent and starts to hobble around the room, like he's looking for something but I don't know what the hell he is even looking for.

We're trapped in this God damn place!

There's no other way out, and it won't be long until the fire spreads and gets to us.

I let out another strangled cough.

That's if the smoke doesn't kill us first.

"Fuck!" I hear Archie shout in frustration and I move towards him, my body feeling weaker and weaker and I watch as he falls to the floor, his hand on his chest.

"Archie? Archie!" he shakes his head and holds out his arm.

"I'm ok." he argues but I can see from his face that he's not. He starts to choke and I feel myself beginning to panic again as he stops coughing. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head as it rolls back to lean against the wall behind him and I panic even more when I see his eyes closing. "Archie!"

He loses consciousness and I try and jerk him awake but he's passed out.

This is it.

I'm going to die alone.

I succumb to my fate, sitting down next to Archie's motionless body letting the tears slide down my face as I cover my mouth and nose with my hand.

I think about all the things in my life that I haven't done, all the opportunities that I've missed, that I let pass me by, all the things I stopped myself from doing because I knew my parents would disapprove.

I haven't even lived.

And now I'm going to die.

I'm about to close my eyes when I hear banging, lots of banging. I look back at Archie who is still unconscious beside me before I crawl to my knees and then to my feet, more than aware of my weakening body.

I follow the noise to the back end of the storage room and frown when I hear it coming from a closet, I don't make the mistake of touching the metal handle immediately, but I do pull down my sleeve and twist the doorknob, thankful that it's nowhere near as hot as the door that takes us back to the restaurant. I pull open the door, and the banging gets louder and I look to the corner to see it's coming from a metal plate against the bottom corner of the wall.

"Hello!" I quickly dive towards it, to where the banging is coming from. "Is someone there?! Please help! Help us!" I shout as loud as my raw voice will allow me.

"Cheryl?!" A voice calls back my name and my eyes widen that someone is actually here to save us, to get us out of here.

"HELP! PLEASE!" I cry out desperately.

"Cheryl, I need you to help me unlock this hatch!" the voice is muffled, and I can't recognize who it is. "Find a screwdriver, or something, anything, that can unscrew these nails!"

I nod my head despite whoever is on the other side not being able to see me, and I quickly rummage around the dark storage room to look for something to use. My hands are shaking, and I feel like I'm about to collapse but the adrenaline is keeping me going and eventually I find a knife that might fit.

It's not a screwdriver, but it could work.

I put it in the top nail and twist as hard as I can, almost squealing as it works and after many attempts the nail falls loose and the top of the metal plate breaks open.

"That's it, Cheryl! Now the bottom!"

Now that there is an open gap between this room and the other side of the hatch, I recognize the voice immediately.

"Toni?" I ask in complete shock.

"That's right," she replies and I can hear the smirk in her voice despite the panic and fear, despite this situation. "Come on baby, we don't have time for pleasantries, break open the bottom one!" she orders me and I quickly start to unscrew.

I get about halfway when the metal of the knife snaps.

"No, no!" I start to panic. "No, I broke it! Toni, it's stuck!" I cry out in fear, not believing how close I came.

"Damn it!" I hear her curse and I feel a new wave of tears overcome me.

I try and wedge the knife out some more, my fingers bleeding from holding the blade, but there's no use. It's completely wedged in.

"Ok, ok! Cheryl, I need you to stand back!" she orders me and I crawl backwards away from the plate.

Soon, I hear the noise of impacts and grunts and I can tell that Toni is trying to kick it down. I pull myself up to my feet and walk back to the entrance between this closet and the storage room to see Archie still where I left him but then my stomach drops.

The flames are getting closer.

"Toni hurry!"

Another bang, and another, and another. 

I feel like she's about to give up.

I wouldn't blame her if she did.

However, before I can even say anything, the metal crashes to the ground with a thud and Toni crawls in after it.

"Cher!" she hobbles towards me, and I don't miss the way she barely seems able to stand on her left foot. "Let's get out of here! Now!" she grabs my hand and goes to pull me away but I immediately shake it.

"No, Archie!" I point back to the storage room and Toni's wide eyes follow my own to see Archie lying unconscious. \+ 

"Shit." she gasps. "Ok, you go, I'll grab him and follow you right out, ok?"

"No." I shake my head. "Let me help you."

"Cheryl!" she shouts at me. "GO!"

"No!" I hiss back stubbornly as she hobbles back into the room, a cough escaping her lips and I don't miss the fearful look on her face as she takes in the flames that are suddenly very very close.

"Now is not the fucking time to be stubborn!" she practically screams at me. "Get the fuck out of here!"

She leans down and attempts to lift Archie but she gasps in pain and falls to her side, leaning against the wall and that's enough to make her see that I'm not going anywhere without them.

"You're hurt!" I note fearful as I dart towards her, my hand immediately on her arm. "Toni! You can't carry Archie alone!" a cough escapes my lips and I start to choke, my hand immediately covering my lips.

I feel Toni's hands pressed against either side of my cheek, the concern and worry evident in her eyes. "You're about to choke to death, God knows how much smoke you've inhaled! You're head is bleeding damn it! Go, Cheryl! I swear I will be right behind you."

"No." I shake my head, my eyes yet again burning with tears. "I'm not going without you."

"I won't leave Archie behind ok? You need to trust me! I will get him out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without you." I hiss angrily and turn back to Archie, bending down and throwing one of his arms over my shoulder, motioning for Toni to get the other, we attempt to pull him up but Archie's body flops forward, his weight overtaking mine and I nearly topple over.

"This isn't going to work." Toni mutters and glances back behind her towards the fire which is spreading by the second and my cheeks are burning from the heat. "He needs to go over my shoulder." I watch as she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before bending down and lifting Archie up.

I flinch as Toni screams with pain, her foot clearly protesting against the extra weight but she ignores it and motions for me to start moving and I quickly dart back towards the tunnel that Toni came through.

I go in ahead, and stop a few feet away as I watch her struggle to get through with Archie hanging over her shoulder but eventually they make it and a huge wave of relief takes over me.

Toni leads me through these underground tunnels silently, the only sounds coming from us is her heavy breathing along with painful gasps, and my choked coughs.

"This way," Toni points to her left as we reach a crossroads and I silently head in that direction, turning my head to see her stumble in pain, almost dropping Toni.

"Toni-" I go to protest but she cuts me off.

"Keep walking, Cheryl!"

I do as she says and we make some more turns before eventually she tells me to stop as we reach some ladders. She instructs me to go first and to open the shaft above me, thankfully this one is made of wood so it's easier to break open than the one in The Grill and I climb out to find myself in the middle of the woods, my eyes adjusting to the evening light, and it feels odd that it's not darkness out here compared to the darkness we've just crawled out of.

I don't know how she did it, but Toni has managed to get an unconscious Archie up the ladders and I watch with tears as she gently places him down onto the grass.

The second she does, a sob escapes my lips and before I even think about it I leap towards Toni and wrap my arms around her tightly, my body crashing against hers as I cling to her tightly.

It takes a moment, but Toni's arms slowly wrap back around me, her hands on my back as she whispers soothing words into my ear as I cry uncontrollably against her shoulder.

I don't know how long we've stood there for, but eventually Toni pulls back, her face serious. "You need to call your father and tell him you got out and that you're safe." she tells me firmly. "Tell him where you are, he'll come and get you." she places her hand on my cheek briefly and my eyes flutter close as she wipes away some blood that has fallen from my gash, her hand hovers pressed against my cheek, her thumb gently stroking my skin but seconds later she pulls away. "I was never here, Cher." she takes a step back and I look at her in shock.

"Wh-what?" I stutter confused. "What do you mean?"

"You got out alone, you and Archie."

I look at her like she's crazy, and she does look crazy. Her hair is messy, uncontrollable, there is sweat dripping from her forehead and smoke stuck to her face. But that's not even the crazy part of this.

"I'm serious, Cheryl."

"But...but people should know!" I argue almost desperately. "People should know that you saved my life! Saved Archie's life! Nobody is going to believe that I did this alone, that I carried Archie out here alone! People need to know what you did, Toni."

"Nobody needs to know." she smiles a little. "It's amazing what adrenaline can do, Cherul, how you carried Archie out of here alone, how this wave of strength took over you." she looks over my shoulder to my unconscious boyfriend. "Nobody has to know. But you need to call your father, now. And an ambulance, Archie needs one, you both do."

She takes a step back and offers me a smile before turning around and walking away, but I see the hobble, I see the way she can barely put weight on her left foot.

"Toni!" I shout after her and watch anxiously as she slowly turns around. "You need to get looked at too, wait with us! Come to the hospital with us, please."

"I'll be fine." she answers back simply. "Now call your father." she tells me for the third time and I sigh giving in and nod my head, digging into my pocket for my cellphone, grateful to see that I eventually have signal.

I watch as Toni disappears out of sight, but before I can think about it the panicked voice of my father is on the other side of the call.

Before I know it, my Dad is here, followed by an ambulance and I'm on the way to hospital and then I'm in a hospital bed.

It's emotional, and there are lots of tears and hugs and questions and I feel like a zombie but I get through it.

It helps that Archie's going to be ok too.

That nobody else was hurt in the fire, that everyone there got out safely.

It's not until later that night when I'm lying alone in a dark hospital room, the doctor insisting I stay overnight just in case, that I realize something.

Something that makes me feel awful, and it's the last thing I think about before I drift off to sleep and dream about overpowering dangerous flames and emerald eyes.

I never actually thanked Toni.


End file.
